Mumbai Climate Week: ‘MCW will focus on climate issues in global south, will be citizen-centric’

How is MCW different from any other climate conference in the world?

As of today, London and New York have their own climate weeks. These conferences largely focus on the global north ecosystem and are very corporate-centric and government-led with limited citizens involvement. For MCW, our idea is to focus on the issues of Mumbai and make it massive. Even though the event is named after Mumbai, the dialogues will involve all climate issues pertaining to the global south. The event will be entirely citizen-centric comprising open mic events where people can voice their climate-related opinions; NGOs and self-help communities working at the grassroot level will also get showcased. There will be exhibitions, plenaries, workshops and panel discussions — which will be open to all and absolutely free for citizens. In a way, this event will reflect our country’s own climate identity and not just the corporate approach about how we plan to deal with these issues.

How will MCW shape India’s role in influencing global climate talks?

India has remained in the action space of climate action and sustainability for a long time. MCW will provide a global platform to showcase what we (India) have been doing in the areas of climate resilience. Today, India is amongst the global south leaders, therefore, in the future, India will play a very important role in shaping climate talks, especially now with America taking a back seat on climate, India can showcase itself as a global leader also.

What will the government’s role be behind the MCW?

The role of the government will be about showcasing their policies and achievements in terms of sustainability and resilience. For instance, a major energy policy is being chalked out for the state of Maharashtra; therefore, the stakeholders may present how it is going to impact people. Meanwhile, various municipal corporations will be setting up their stalls for showcasing their work and policies. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will put up an exhibition on its climate action plan. At the same time the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is creating a heat action plan for the state, which will also be exhibited. There will be bureaucrats and ministers who will be holding dialogues and taking part in interactions. In addition to this the Conference of Parties (COP) presidency will also be present, along with 100 global stakeholders who work privately and with various world governments in areas of climate change.

Besides seeing dialogues and interactive sessions, is MCW also going to see MoUs being signed between government agencies and private stakeholders?

Right now there is a likelihood that the COP presidency may sign an MOU with MCW in general to make this event a much more regulated affair. The COP is the annual climate conference held by the United Nations (UN) and so far they have never done something collaborative with New York or London, who have their own climate weeks. But they want to do something like a partnership with Mumbai Climate Week to take it forward. Besides, several entities and organisations including UNICEF is holding road shows, so there could be few MoUs that could get signed during the three days.

Why was Mumbai chosen for MCW?

Mumbai is one of the few major global cities with unique biodiversity advantages as well as challenges. So, for instance, being close to the sea, we have a challenge for our coastal resilience. At the same time, we are also a mix of urban, non-urban pockets and Mumbai is also a unique city which has a forest within the city. Despite these unique biodiversity advantages, we are facing issues related to pollution, and loss of green cover. So our objective behind having this session in Mumbai is to initiate a dialogue on how we can make use of these biodiversity advantages and project ourselves as an example of urban resilience in the world.