JOIN USNCCC needed to tackle climate change: Aaditya Thackeray
India needs a National Council on Climate Change which could be chaired by the Prime Minister and the elected representatives from the states as its members, Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said as one of the steps to tackle climate change.
“Given the severity of our situation, my message to all fellow environment ministers across India is that we need to band together and undertake collective climate action. Collaboration across the board to build climate resilience is the need of the hour,” Thackeray told DH in an interview coinciding with the World Environment Day.
Thackeray, the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, is steering one of India’s biggest climate action plans in Maharashtra, said: “As Environment Ministers, but more importantly, as elected representatives, we have to act decisively on climate change. The loss and damage due to climate change-related disasters are taking a toll on our environment, economy and society.”
Thackeray, who also holds the Tourism and Protocol portfolios, pointed out that the Maharashtra government has paid over Rs 14,000 crores as compensation for extreme weather events in just the last two years.
“This gives an idea of the scale of loss of life and livelihood that we are facing today due to climate change and its impacts. We are already witnessing a rise in the frequency of floods and cyclones. Just a few weeks ago, the entire Indian subcontinent was sweating under a scorching heatwave,” he said.
According to him, subnational action is the way forward. “Moreover, regional governments need to join hands with non-state actors like businesses, investors and civil society in combating climate change. India emphasised the Panchamrit vision at COP26 to meet its climate goals. Now it is up to the state governments to take leadership. States can devise localised solutions to their climate woes.”
Elaborating further, he said: "As per the climate issues that they specifically face, our states should meaningfully engage with the aforementioned stakeholders to step up India’s climate ambitions and agenda. As a matter of fact, the Maharashtra government is working with organizations such as the Climate Group’s Under2 Coalition and C40 Cities, through which we are collaborating and working with subnational governments in India and abroad.”
On being asked about the Mumbai Climate Action Plan has set some ambitious targets already while 43 cities have signed up for Race to Zero in the state, he said: “At COP26, India set forth an ambitious 2070 net-zero goal. As a subnational government, Maharashtra will lead from the front and accelerate the achievement of our national goal at the earliest. Maharashtra is already a partner in the UN Race to Resilience. Given that our state contributes the highest percentage to India’s GDP, the state has the resources to become NetZero as early as 2050”.
With this view, the government conceptualised the Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan as a state-wide program to build grassroots level climate resilience. If Maharashtra achieves its Net Zero target at such an early date by adopting a sustainable development trajectory, then it creates a competitive atmosphere for other states to achieve their Net Zero goals. This will only speed up the attainment of India’s Net Zero goals. Only by working together, can we ensure that India sets a precedent internationally by achieving its Net Zero goals earlier than 2070.
According to him, the Maharashtra government has set up the Maharashtra Council on Climate Change which would be chaired by the Chief Minister and co-chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister and the Revenue Minister.