‘Mumbai to become climate finance gateway for Global South: Devendra Fadnavis inaugurates MCW 2026 summit
CM Devendra Fadnavis said Maharashtra is leading India's renewable push, aiming for over 50 per cent green energy by 2030, on the opening day of Mumbai Climate Week 2026.
4 min readMumbaiUpdated: Feb 17, 2026 01:12 PM IST
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with Union minister Pralhad Joshi and state minister Pankaja Munde and other dignitaries during the launch of Mumbai Climate Week 2026 at BKC (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee).
Climate change is a governance challenge and should be addressed seriously, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Tuesday on the opening day of Mumbai Climate Week (MCW) 2026.
“Mumbai as a city has remained resilient over extreme climate change events. Over here, extreme rainfall events are not statistics, and heatwaves are not graphs. Here, we see trains halted, disrupting livelihoods. That’s why tackling the climate crisis is the need of the hour,” Fadnavis said after inaugurating the three-day MCW summit.
At the event, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on ‘Urban Heat Mitigation, Passive Cooling and Nature-based Resilience systems, Climate adaptation frameworks’ with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Resources Institute (WRI), C40, and Urban Land Institute (ULI).
The opening event also saw the launch of the theme report for MCW, ‘Climate in the Global South: Advancing innovation and collective action’.
Fadnavis also said that Mumbai, India’s financial capital, can become a climate finance gateway for the Global South. “Scale of climate transition requires patent capital and confidence in execution. Mumbai has deep financial markets and growing green finance platforms. Therefore, we invite global institutions to partner with us for making scalable models to counter climate change, which other economies can replicate.”
The MCW is India’s first platform dedicated to accelerating transformative, citizen-driven climate action in the Global South. Global leaders and policymakers convene at the summit to advance climate sustainability and growth.
According to Fadnavis, Maharashtra leads the way in renewable energy. “India added an additional 55 gigawatts to its 552 gigawatt installed capacity in just one year, the fastest ever and 75 per cent renewable sources have led this. I am proud to say most of this has come from Maharashtra.”
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“In Maharashtra, we are roughly at 48 gigawatt installed capacity with 21 per cent renewable, but this number will change significantly by 2030, when we approach 84 gigawatt installed capacity, we will have more than 50 per cent from green and clean sources. We are doing this by saving green hydrogen, electric mobility, biofuels and sustainable infrastructure,” Fadnavis added.
1 lakh additional solar pumps to farmers
Speaking during the launch, Prahlad Joshi, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, announced 1 lakh additional solar pumps for Maharashtra under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM Kusum) scheme.
“Being the fourth largest economy in the world, India’s emissions have come down in the last 10 years. We are decoupling growth and emissions. This is the first of its kind globally, and Maharashtra is leading on that front. Maharashtra is becoming a model of how economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand, a model many states are now following. Therefore, Mumbai should become the voice of Global action,” said Joshi.
He added, “When the PM Kusum yojana, which looks at the conversion of agricultural pumps into solar pumps, was announced, it was very slow. In Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis made it into a people’s movement and brought in a revolution. In Maharashtra, under the PM Kusum programme, the cost of energy production is Rs 3, with Rs 5 in savings: electricity is generated by farmers, consumed on-site, and any excess is fed into the power grid. Since PM Kusum is the most successful in Maharashtra, I am announcing another 1 lakh additional pumps for the state, and I will pass this order as soon as I reach Delhi to give these to the state.”
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Pankaja Munde, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said climate action is a shared global response. “For Maharashtra and especially in Mumbai, climate change impact is visible as we are witnessing rising flooding, urban heat, and increasing pressure on air quality. In rural Maharashtra, we are also witnessing droughts and flooding, which indicate that the environment is being neglected. Maharashtra stands as one of the leading states in industrialisation, which makes it further open to climate issues,” said Munde.
Shishir Joshi, the organising head of the MCW and founder of Project Mumbai, said that the idea behind the summit is to move beyond dialogue towards implementation and citizen engagement.
Nayonika Bose is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau. While in the early stages of her career, her focused reporting on local governance and community welfare already demonstrates clear Expertise and Trustworthiness in covering essential civic issues impacting Mumbai's residents.
Expertise & Authority (E-E-A-T)
Specialized Focus: Nayonika's reporting is dedicated to civic and community issues, providing readers with highly relevant, ground-level information about the functionality and administration of India's largest metropolitan area.
Core Coverage Areas: Her articles highlight a strong focus on the fundamental quality of life and public safety in Mumbai, including:
Civic Infrastructure: Reports on critical failures and initiatives related to public works, such as the recurring problem of unauthorized building collapses in Navi Mumbai, the construction of new infrastructure projects (like the Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road and the Mahalaxmi cable-stayed bridge), and the maintenance of essential city services (e.g., manhole cover theft).
Urban Governance & Crisis Management: Provides detailed coverage of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) response to major crises, particularly during the monsoon (e.g., heavy rainfall, water cuts, and public health concerns like dengue and malaria) and large-scale public safety incidents (e.g., the hoarding collapse fallout).
Community Welfare & Rights: Reports on key social issues, including the financial aid scheme for persons with disabilities, the struggles of Mumbai's hawkers protesting eviction drives, and the dangers faced by workers due to the continuation of manual scavenging in water tanks.
Cultural & Heritage Reporting: Covers significant community stories, including the restoration of British-era fountains and the history of institutions like the 126-year-old Chinchpokli cemetery, showing a breadth of interest beyond pure administration.
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Pratip Acharya is a seasoned journalist based in Mumbai reporting for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over a decade, his work demonstrates strong Expertise and Authority in critical urban issues, civic affairs, and electoral politics across Eastern and Western India.
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Current Role: Journalist, The Indian Express (IE), reporting from Mumbai.
Core Authority: Pratip's reporting focuses sharply on local democracy and development, specializing in:
Urban Governance and Civic Affairs: Providing in-depth analysis of municipal decision-making, city planning, and local infrastructure, essential for informed urban reporting.
City Politics and Environment: Covering the political dynamics of Mumbai and surrounding areas, alongside critical environmental challenges impacting the metro region.
Electoral Coverage (High-Stakes Experience): He has extensive experience in high-stakes political reporting, having covered major elections, establishing his Trustworthiness in political analysis:
National: Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.
State: West Bengal Assembly elections in 2016 and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019.
Major Assignments (Ground Reporting): Pratip demonstrated commitment during crises by conducting ground reporting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic since its breakout in 2020, offering first-hand accounts and analysis of the public health crisis.
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Extensive Experience: Starting his career in 2014, Pratip has built his foundation across multiple prominent English dailies:
Started at The Times of India in Kolkata (2014).
Relocated to Mumbai (2016) and worked with The Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times before joining The Indian Express.
Pratip Acharya's diverse experience across major publications, coupled with his specialized focus on the intricate details of urban governance and a track record of covering major electoral and health crises, establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for news from India's critical metropolitan centres. ... Read More
