In a first, Mumbai figures on CDP 2022 list of cities named ‘Climate Action Leaders’

Mumbai becomes first Indian city among reporting South Asian cities to receive top score on climate action from environmental impact non-profit, CDP

Team News Porter

Mumbai has added one more feather to its cap as it has become the first Indian city to be added to the A-list in the 5^th Annual Cities Report published by CDP, as Egypt hosted the COP27 event.

CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions, recognises the important role that cities play in taking bold actions to mitigate and adopt to climate change – something Mumbai has shown despite the challenging global economic situation.

Designed to encourage and support cities to ramp up their climate action and ambition, CDP’s Cities A-List is based on environmental data disclosed by cities to CDP-ICLEI Track.

A total of 122 cities across the globe have been named as leaders in environmental action and transparency in 2022 by CDP.

[View the full 2022 CDP Cities A List here]

This list, for the first time, includes cities from several countries in the Global South, including Mumbai – cities that are often most impacted by climate change, said a media release by CDP.

The other cities from Global South that have made it onto the A-List for the first time are: Lima (Peru), Quito (Ecuador) and Yaoundé IVth Commune (Cameroon).

The Middle East also sees its first A-List cities, including Amman (Jordan) and Kadiköy in (Turkey).

Also, Brazil, Chile, and the Philippines have returned to the cities A-List for the first time since 2020.

Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Mumbai is separated from the mainland by Thane Creek and Harbour Bay. The city is vulnerable to climate change-induced hazards, such as sea level rise, heavy rainfall, storm surges, increasing heat, and tropical cyclones. It is also susceptible to landslides, due to heavy rain that causes many fatalities and physical damage each monsoon season.

Mumbai has recently released its first-ever Climate Action Plan in 2022, ‘Towards a Climate Resilient Mumbai’. It outlines the city’s aims to reach net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050 – the most significant step taken in its climate journey thus far. The Climate Action Plan 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. The action plan sets short, medium, and long-term climate goals aimed at achieving zero emission of greenhouse gases or a net-zero target for 2050.

CDP India Director, Prarthana Borah said the choices made today will shape the future impacts of climate change and the capacity to respond to them.

“The focus should be on improving our understanding of what is working and what is not, so that we can move from an alarmist storyline to a “what-we-must-do” story. The world, and its cities, need to go much further and faster in stepping up that action,” Prarthana added.

[Main/featured picture of Mumbai courtesy Pixabay]