Mumbai Climate Action Plan

Mumbai Climate Action Plan

Topic: Environment

Section: Climate change

Context- The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP) has laid down a 30-year roadmap for the city to tackle the challenges of climate change by adopting inclusive and robust mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Concept-

• The action plan has set short, medium and long term climate goals aimed towards zero emission of greenhouse gas or a net-zero target for 2050.
• It has been said that actions must be taken on priority across six strategic areas—
  • sustainable waste management,
  • urban greening and biodiversity,
  • urban flooding and water resource management,
  • energy and buildings,
  • air quality and
  • sustainable mobility.

What is the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP)?

• The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) prepared the plan with technical support from the World Resources Institute (WRI), India and the C40 Cities network.
• The plan throws light on the current climate of the city called Baseline Assessment—climate and air pollution risks, greenhouse gas inventory.
• It also then assesses future trajectories in the business-as-usual scenarios and assesses future emission reduction scenarios to make Mumbai net-zero by 2050.
• It also lists down Sectoral Priorities and Plans, including ongoing initiatives in the departments, gaps, short-, and long-term action points.

Why does Mumbai need a climate action plan?

• As per a study conducted by WRI India on Mumbai’s vulnerability assessment, the city will face two major challenges—
  • temperature rise, and
  • extreme rain events which will lead to flooding.
• As per the vulnerability assessment of greenhouse gas and natural green cover, the city has witnessed a warming trend.
• The analysis has revealed a warming trend over 47 years (1973-2020) with an increase of 0.25°C per decade for the city.

What is the current greenhouse gas emission?

• In 2019, which is taken as a base year, Mumbai’s GHG emissions were 23.42 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission, which is 1.8 tonnes CO2e per person.
• Out of which, 16.9 million tonnes or 72 per cent is from the energy sector, followed by 4.56 million tonnes of CO2 e or 20 per cent from the transportation sector.
• The city’s waste sector contributes to a total of eight per cent of the total emissions.
• Most of the city’s emissions come from energy use in residential buildings followed by commercial buildings and transport.
• Electricity consumption contributes significantly to total emissions (64.3%), due to the city’s predominantly coal-based grid.

About C40:

• The C40 group was started in 2005 by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and got its name in 2006, since it had 40 members that year.
• It has 96 members at present, representing over one-quarter of the global economy.
• It connects the world’s largest cities to deliver urgent and essential climate action needed to secure a sustainable future for urban citizens worldwide.
• The group is committed to delivering on climate targets set under the 2016 Paris Agreement, and sets the bar for cities to develop and implement local level plans that comply with those targets.
• It has its offices in New York, USA and London, UK.

About Mumbai:

• Mumbai is on a narrow peninsula on the southwest of Salsette Island, which lies between the Arabian Sea to the west, Thane Creek to the east and Vasai Creek to the north.
• Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district, which form two separate revenue districts of Maharashtra.
• Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the Konkan.
• It sits on Salsette Island (Sashti Island), which it partially shares with the Thane district.
• Mumbai is India’s second largest city (by population) and is the financial and commercial capital of the country as it generates 6.16% of the total GDP.