Goals set by PM Modi doable but India doesn't have luxury of time for climate action: Aaditya Thackeray ahead of COP27

MUMBAI: India doesn’t have the luxury of time for climate action, even as the goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the UN climate change conference in Glasgow (COP26) are doable, Maharashtra’s former environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, who represented the state at the COP26, has said ahead of the COP27.
India had promised the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070 and announced enhanced targets for renewable energy use and reduction in carbon emissions at the COP26.
Ahead of the COP27, Thackeray also said that cities would have to lead the way to implement the climate action goals. He stressed on having sustainability in development and economics, to make this work, saying that politics should be kept away from climate action.
“The biggest issue today for all countries is climate, especially for a country like ours, which has a high population density. We are a very special mix of urban and rural, agrarian and industrialised. We will be impacted the most by climate change due to our crop patterns, settlement locations, irrespective of socio- economic strata. We need to realise that we don’t have the luxury of time for climate action. COP26 was where policymakers from around the world came together. The good part is it also had regional governments and cities, corporates and NGOs. It’s this collective work that will make an impact,” Thackeray said.
Green activists and environmentalists said that from COP27, it was expected that stakeholders review the progress made so far and also encourage data, innovative climate technologies and support entrepreneurs.
'PM Modi's 'LIFE' movement will be theme of India pavilion at COP27'
The Union environment ministry recently announced that LIFE (Lifestyle for the Environment), a global initiative launched by PM Modi, will be the theme of the India pavilion at the upcoming COP27 at Sharm-El-Sheikh in Egypt. Modi had proposed the one-word mass movement ‘LIFE’ at COP26 last November.
Subsequently, he launched 'Lifestyle for the Environment - LIFE Movement' in June this year. This will bring into focus the unsustainable lifestyle of rich nations whose ‘mindless’ consumption of resources is said to be one of the key reasons for high cumulative historical emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which led to climate change.
Data show India is the fourth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the world after China, the United States and the European Union. But due to its massive population, India’s emissions per capita are much lower than big economies. India emitted only 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per person in 2019. On the other hand, the US had per capita emissions of 15.5 tonnes and Russia had 12.5 tonnes.
Last year, Maharashtra had bagged the Inspiring Regional Leadership Award from Under2 Coalition for Climate Action and became the only Indian state to win one of the three awards by U2 in Scotland. Maharashtra's efforts for climate action at a sub-national level were feted by the Under2 Coalition, the largest global network of states and regions committed to climate action.
'Development versus conservation debate'
While Mumbai released its first Climate Action Plan (MCAP), a policy document to adopt an evidence-based planning approach and mobilise resources to move from action planning to strategic projects, in March this year, issues like the hacking of trees for construction of the Metro 3 car shed are still a bone of contention between the successive governments. With the new Shinde-Fadnavis government deciding to go ahead with the construction of the car shed at the Aarey Colony forest, protests have started once again. “The new government’s stance on Aarey forest and the car shed has made it amply clear that this dispensation is not serious about the environment and the high benchmarks we’ve set in climate action. I hope they realise what they’re leaving for the current generation,” Thackeray said.
'Working in silos for climate action no longer feasible'
Thackeray also pointed out that working in silos for climate action was no longer feasible. “We constituted the Maharashtra Council of Climate Change, headed by the chief minister. It has targets for various departments like energy, transport, urban development, finance and planning, and industry, as I strongly believe that climate action is no longer just the work of the environment ministry. We can’t work in silos now, we need collective action that is meaningful, tangible and reviewed. I have also urged the government of India to constitute the Indian Council of Climate Change with environment ministers from all states, just like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council,” he said.
'Some Indian states can achieve net zero target by 2050'
While PM Modi’s net zero pledge was seen as a significant step, activists pointed out that India still generates more than 50 per cent of electricity from coal.
However, Thackeray said that some Indian states could actually achieve the target by 2050.
“It’s the state governments who can lead the way. India has set a target for 2070, which is a collective target for all the states in our country. But it is possible and necessary for states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Bihar and Delhi to hit this much earlier. These are states which have begun their pathway towards climate action and can achieve the goal as soon as 2050,” he said.
Thackeray added that COP26 was where policymakers from around the world came together and the good part was it also had regional governments and cities, corporates and NGOs.
In 2021, the Maharashtra government had announced its new electric vehicle (EV) policy with an aim of making such vehicles achieve 10 per cent share of total registrations by 2025. Another target laid down in the new policy was to establish one gigawatt of battery manufacturing capability in the state.
“Our EV Policy 2021 gave a huge boost to EVs in Maharashtra, and thus India. BEST's double decker electric bus is what we pushed for, making it India’s first double decker electric bus. Our mandate for all public transport fleets to be electric or alternate clean fuel has also helped local bodies save on their high spendings on fossil fuel. Pune has been shortlisted for a C40 award in Buenos Aires, later this year, as a result of our policy. We had also begun to look at hydrogen-run buses for Mumbai as an alternative. I hope this continues as it helps the local bodies in pollution mitigation and has huge savings,” Aaditya said.
India has been setting up its pavilions at COPs since 2015 to showcase its achievements in climate actions. Several think tanks, civil society organisations, industry bodies and private-sector firms organise side events at the India pavilion. Egypt will host COP27 from November 7 to 18.