A recent climate assessment report by the Union Ministry has stated that Thane city — which falls under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) — can ensure a 22 per cent reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2025-26, through effective action plans that could be implemented at the ground level. The 'State of Cities: Towards Low Carbon and Resilient Path-ways' report is being carried out by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, along with International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), South Asia. The study's objective was to identify key challenges in terms of climate resilience and greenhouse gas mitigation that lies ahead for these cities. According to the report, the amount of greenhouse gas emitted within Thane annually is equivalent to 2.29 million metric tonne (MMT) of carbon dioxide. It also stated that Thane annually uses 13.06 million gigajoule (GJ) energy and consumes 1,677 million kilowatt (kW) per hour of electricity. Furthermore, residential buildings in Thane city consume 47 per cent of the total energy and emit 43 per cent of the total greenhouse gas — the highest in the state. The report states that public transport mediums consume 36.9 per cent of the total energy, with public sector buildings recording the maximum emissions of 47.8 per cent. Thane will also record an increase in the average minimum temperature and rainfall by 2025-26, it added. Preventive measures Highlighting different action models, the report stated that the implementation of the pointers will play a key role in bringing down the overall emission level. "The Mumbai Metropolitan Region's commercial hub, with its economy mainly based on consumer related services including hospitality and Information Technology industries, would reduce its emissions by 22 per cent within 2025-26. To get there, all the buildings — residential, co mmercial, and industrial — must use rooftop solar and solar water heaters, evaluate integration of district cooling systems, and conduct energy audits for retrofits. High-rises must have green building designs, and solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heating systems at hotels and hospitals," reads the report. "The transport sector could look at developing an electric mobility framework, introducing e-buses with solar PV charging facilities at depots, and replacing the existing diesel bus fleet with CNG buses. There must also be a speedy application of EV for intermediate public transport (IPT) modes. For waste management, the administration can look at a 600 tonne per day (TPD) waste-to-energy and two TPD plastic waste to fuel plants, scientific closure of landfills and development of a solar farm, and decentralised biomethanation and composting plants for organic waste processing. There should also be a city-wide scale-up of energy efficient street-lighting," it added. "Thane can look at an integrated urban water management and catchment management plan. Additionally, there can be integrated groundwater management through increased recharge efficiency. For storm water management, the administration can harvest rainwater and look at an early warning system and flood lines for hazard alerts," said Emani Kumar, executive director of ICLEI, South Asia.
