Mumbai Climate Action Plan, Explained!

The main objective of the Mumbai Climate Action Plan is to create a comprehensive strategy to tackle the challenges of climate change by adopting inclusive and robust mitigation and adaptation strategies. The plan aims to identify vulnerable communities that are most impacted by the effects of climate change. And, to increase resilience by introducing sector-specific strategies for mitigation and adaptation.

Read more: Mumbai Climate Action Plan

Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP)

In August 2021, the Government of Maharashtra, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), launched the planning process for the city’s first-ever climate action plan. Mumbai also signed the C40 Cities Deadline 2020 commitment, which aligns with the Paris Agreement, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. The C40 cities climate leadership group is a collective of 97 cities around the world working on fighting climate change and driving urban action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks. Mumbai joined the group in December 2020, as the fifth Indian city following Delhi NCT, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Chennai.

The Mumbai Climate Action Plan has put forward mitigation targets of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Short and long-term targets include a 30% emissions reduction by 2030, 44% by 2040, and net zero by 2050. The MCAP baseline assessment identified six key sectors which are:

• energy and buildings
• Sustainable mobility
• Sustainable waste management
• Urban greening and biodiversity
• Air quality
• Urban flooding and water resource management, and also provide associated track actions.

Read more: MCAP Summary for Policymakers.pdf

Vulnerability assessment of Mumbai

The vulnerability assessment of Mumbai reveals that the city’s geography and scale, rate, and pattern of urbanization expose it to several climate-induced hazards. Changing and uncertain patterns of rainfall, deteriorating coastal ecology, and development choices have made flooding a recurrent major challenge.

Over 30% of Mumbai’s population lives within the influence of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reported flooding hotspots. Due to the rise in humidity following the monsoon, growing construction density, choice of building material, and decreased green cover in the city, urban heat is a problem for Mumbai not just in the summer but also in the post-monsoon.

Read more: VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT REPORT - MCAP.pdf

Also, a study by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) indicated that Maharashtra is the 3rd most vulnerable state in India. Furthermore, Mumbai is one of the five districts that are most vulnerable to the compounded impacts of climate change.

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