BBMP releases landmark Climate action plan, aims net zero carbon by 2050

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Monday launched the Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) with an eye to achieving net-zero by 2050 to create a roadmap for a safer, healthier and more equitable city.

This makes Bengaluru one of the few cities in the world, and the third city in India, to have a global standard climate action plan.

The civic body, along with other stakeholders have been preparing a data-driven, inclusive and collaborative climate action plan with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building healthy, equitable and resilient communities.

“We have a good plan in hand. All it needs is integration of different government departments for a successful execution,” said Ravichandran, director of Brand Bengaluru.

The BBMP has also announced a creation of a Climate Action Cell at BBMP to facilitate efficient implementation of the BCAP.

“Dedicated staff and resources will be allocated for this. The Climate action cell will work with all other stakeholder agencies,” it said.

According to BBMP officials, the BCAP prepared with World Resources Institute (WRI) India as knowledge partner, also considered ideas from all stakeholder groups including different government departments, practitioners, civil society members and community-based organisations.

This plan also contains the first GHG inventory which analyses all the major sectors and sources that emit GHGs into the atmosphere. This inventory will help authorities build evidence-based mitigation strategies and policies, and to measure progress on the actions taken.

A Climate Change Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CCRAVA) was done to understand Bengaluru's major climate risks and the actions are aligned to seven major sectors – energy and buildings, transportation, solid waste management, water, wastewater and stormwater, air quality, urban planning, greening and biodiversity, and disaster and management.

Citizen activists, residents and other officials expressed disappointment with the absence of BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and Deputy Chief Minister at the event.