Aaditya Thackeray Launches Mumbai's First Climate Action Plan

Mumbai, which has been battling freak weather conditions and erratic rains over the last few years, launched an ambitious plan to tackle the impact of climate change today.

The city's civic body Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) launched Mumbai's first climate action plan with technical support from the World Resources Institute India.

As part of a network of the world's megacities committed to addressing climate change - the C40 Cities Network - Mumbai was "encouraged to draft its Climate Action Plan by the end of 2021 and is doing so in compliance with C40 guidelines and ambitious standards", the city's civic body said in a press release.

Maharashtra's Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, who was present at the launch, tweeted, "I had the honour to preside over the launch of the Mumbai Climate Action Plan by @mybmc to develop a climate change mitigation & adaptation plan, taking suggestions from citizens and experts,

"The MCAP will focus on building the city and moving the citizens toward climate-resilient and sustainable development, ensuring adaptation and mitigation. From November onwards, the suggestions will be included, and the policy action will initiate for #MumbaiClimateActionPlan," he added.

Warning about the implications of climate change, especially for coastal cities like Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray said, "While many of us believe that we have the luxury of time in climate change action, it is a false notion. This is the time to act. We must go beyond messaging and make climate change action our policy mission and personal habit, ensuring its implementation."

Mumbai faces two major climate challenges - urban flooding and increasing heat, Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said in the release. As a coastal city, Mumbai experiences high levels of humidity, resulting in humid heat, he said.

Rainfall trends over the last 10 years show an increase in extreme-rainfall-events (EREs) resulting in frequent conditions of waterlogging and flooding, the press note said.

Over the next three months, MCGM with support from WRI India will conduct a series of stakeholder consultations to seek feedback and recommendations from organisations and sector experts for the six action tracks, it said. This includes Sustainable Waste Management, Urban Greening and Biodiversity, Urban Flooding and Water Resource Management, Building Energy Efficiency, Air Quality and Sustainable Mobility, the release added.