The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is eager to emulate successful green plans from other countries and make them a part of its upcoming climate action plan.
Consuls general, deputy high commissioners and senior officials of at least five consular offices based in Kolkata offered their views on countering climate change at a programme held at Press Club Kolkata on World Environment Day, which falls on June 5.
“I would like to personally request all country representatives to share relevant knowledge and inputs from their respective countries. We would like to take this discussion forward under the leadership of the mayor of Kolkata,” said Debasish Kumar, mayoral council member of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation at the programme hosted by non-profit Environment Governed Integrated Organisation (EnGIO), Just Transition Research Centre of IIT Kanpur and Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA).
EnGIO is at present working on a draft plan to fight climate change. “We will soon start the stakeholder-level discussions as the election process is now over. We have also set up a Kolkata Climate Action Plan (KCAP) website that will be launched soon,” said Dulal Bose, former sheriff of Kolkata and senior adviser of EnGIO.
West Bengal Pollution Control Board chairman Kalyan Rudra said the preparation of West Bengal Climate Action Plan, whose preparation is also in the final lap, vindicates Kolkata’s vulnerability to climate change and its high heat quotient. “We have considered the data of eight meteorological stations in Kolkata and the rise in heat level is alarming.”
A presentation at the beginning of the discussion underlined how, according to a UN report, Kolkata’s maximum temperature may near 50 degrees Celsius by 2080 unless global emission is reduced.
Beating the heat
A panel discussion on Countering Climate Extremes in West Bengal: Beat the heat in Kolkata saw consular corps coming up with suggestions and inputs.
“North and south city corporations of Dhaka have new heat management projects, with chief heat officers looking after the issue alongside international organisations,” said Andalib Ilias, deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata, adding that, like Kolkata, Dhaka has also been impacted by a boom in infrastructure development and transport.
Speaking about community awareness, Ilias cited an interesting model from Dhaka. “Sometimes back a large chunk of waste dump was excavated from a partially filled up canal in north Dhaka and an exhibition was set up with that waste mass to let people know what they had actually thrown in the canal; we expect it to generate a lot of awareness,” he said,
Hugh Boylan, consul general of Australia in Kolkata, offered to share the disaster preparedness plans prepared by states such as New South Wales and Queensland, where flooding has been a problem. “Australia can also share its model of financial incentives for solar panels as Australia at present has the highest uptake of household solar energy in the world,” he said.
The 25-odd Japanese companies working in West Bengal at present are willing to contribute towards better environment, said Matsutaro Yamasaki, the acting consul general of Japan in Kolkata. He said three of these companies are working on environment and climate projects — one is developing a solar- powered cold storage plant in Singur as part of an agricultural development project and producing packaging material from banana leaf; the second is producing industrial glasses and medical oxygen and third one has been assembling e-rickshaw in Kolkata since 2017.”
Jürgen G. Kurzhals, the deputy consul General of Germany, recalled Kolkata’s “heatwave for 29 days in April 2024” and how Cyclone Remal battered the city.
The official drew parallels with Mannheim city in Germany, where, like in Kolkata, scientists, citizens and the administration are developing a Climate Action Plan in close coordination by the municipal council. Mannheim, one of 10 European cities that have been awarded for its synopsis project to achieve climate neutrality in 2030, is emphasising on agendas such as photovoltaic technologies, getting back the greens, decarbonisation, use of geothermal energy and people’s participation in framing if policies, Kurzhals said.
“Beside, the German government has restricted diesel vehicles in central areas of the cities,” said the official, adding that all measures taken under the climate plan are being shared to the public in a dedicated website run by the city of Mannheim.
Juan Clar, acting director of the American Center, shared that Kolkata and Miami, which is also developing its climate action plan, can share notes as these two cities “have similar hot and humid tropical climate prone to hurricanes and storms, rising sea level and other similar climate change issues”.
Procuring funds to protecting foliage
Debasish Kumar, mayoral council member of the KMC, urged consulates to share knowledge on climate change action plans
Several city-based experts and KCAP members have pointed out some key measures that may be pursued to prepare a robust plan for countering climate change.
“Availability of finance is key to execution of the plans, set to be listed under KCAP. We will explore the funds options for implementing these plans. I think some of the funds need to come from corporates under corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects,” said Nilanjan Ghosh, head of the Kolkata chapter of think tank Observer Research Foundation, and a member of city climate action plan committee.
Bhargav Maitra, an IIT Kharagpur professor and transport expert, laid importance on electric vehicles, including trams, alongside water transport to minimise the city's climate footprint. Haimanti Poddar, an energy expert associated with the British Deputy High Commission in the city, also argued for stronger electric vehicle presence.
Aniriddha Mukherjee, head of environment department at Calcutta University, said that city’s biodiversity protection is a must to reduce the climatic impact; while Arunabha Majumdar, a former director-head of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, explained how the drainage of the city may turn poorer with possibilities of more short duration heavy downpours likely unless the out channels of the city get immediately desilted.