In her keynote address, Sujata Saunik IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra urged representatives from the 43 cities to create intervention schemes for effective air-quality management practices. “Maharashtra has been at the forefront of creating and implementing climate action and heat action plans. We need to look at air-quality in a similar way – where we need to track sources of air pollution, map them, look at various interventions to tackle them effectively by creating evidence-based clean air action plans. This is the time to come together and learn from global best practices to implement positive action urgently.”

Pravin Darade IAS, Maharashtra’s Environment Secretary stressed on the need for creating plans that are actionable and measurable with clear milestones. He said, “In the last few years, Maharashtra has been at the forefront of becoming a global leader at the intersection of economic growth, urban infrastructure development, and environmental action. We have issued directives mandating the setting up of city and district climate action cells to prepare city and district level plans that align with India’s net zero goals by 2070.”

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In 2022, Mumbai became the first city to launch a climate action plan followed by developing Asia’s first city-level climate budget. These initiatives are paving the way for innovative planning and financing of climate action projects. Cities like Nashik, Solapur, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar have also initiated their own Climate Action Plans and are actively implementing projects aligned with these plans.

Claudia Lopez, former Mayor of Bogotá, Harvard 2024 ALI Fellow and Advisor to WRI, who also took a session on implementing low-emission zones within cities for clean air in India, said, “As India rapidly urbanizes, the country must look at urbanization as an industry with four important technologies for transformation – land-use plan, capturing land value, multimodal integration and human capital. These along with education and awareness about these issues will be effective for sustainable economic development.”

Madhav Pai, CEO, WRI India, said, “Maharashtra has a strong aspiration for economic growth and development alongside effective climate action. At WRI India, we are committed to supporting the Net Zero goals, but we also strongly believe that the transition must be nature-positive, just and inclusive for everyone."