Experts urge candidates to include climate change action in manifesto

Pune: Environmental experts from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC), TERRE Policy Centre, Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN), and BAIF Development Research Foundation on Thursday urged standing candidates in the 2024 state assembly elections to include climate change action in their political manifestos.In light of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties, commonly known as COP29, the experts noted the need to increase climate finance in Maharashtra in the areas of food, water, and energy security.The group of experts included Dr Gurudas Nulkar, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development, GIPE; Dr Vinita Apte, founder director, TERRE Policy Centre; Dr Priyadarshini Karve, CEO of CLEAN; and Dr Myron Mendes, national facilitator of INECC."We want the parties to make it a part of their manifesto. Meanwhile, we will be providing inputs to the state climate action cell for the first state climate action plan in Maharashtra as well. Once the elections are over, we will coordinate with the elected representatives for these additions," said Nulkar.They emphasised that the state must urgently focus on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction to address the local impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, food and water insecurity, and challenges of energy access for the state's most vulnerable communities.Mendes said, "Maharashtra must urgently scale up climate adaptation efforts to protect its people from the worsening impacts of climate change, particularly in sectors of agriculture, water and energy security, and disaster preparedness. The state assembly elections are coinciding with COP29."The experts said there is a need to fund decentralised locally-led solutions that strengthen resilience on the ground, appealing to all the political parties fighting elections in Maharashtra to declare their plans for climate mitigation and adaptation.The group wanted a greater focus on topics such as loss and damage mechanisms in countries, a new collective quantified goal on climate finance, circular economy, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction to safeguard Maharashtra's vulnerable communities.These points have also been key areas of discussion at COP29, including energy security through decentralised renewable solutions, which will improve energy access for rural communities, usage of biomass waste for energy production, and using nature-based solutions for conserving climate change.The group pushed for on-ground change and implementation, which can only occur through political leaders adapting and mitigating climate change through policies.Pune: Environmental experts from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC), TERRE Policy Centre, Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN), and BAIF Development Research Foundation on Thursday urged standing candidates in the 2024 state assembly elections to include climate change action in their political manifestos.In light of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties, commonly known as COP29, the experts noted the need to increase climate finance in Maharashtra in the areas of food, water, and energy security.The group of experts included Dr Gurudas Nulkar, director of the Centre for Sustainable Development, GIPE; Dr Vinita Apte, founder director, TERRE Policy Centre; Dr Priyadarshini Karve, CEO of CLEAN; and Dr Myron Mendes, national facilitator of INECC."We want the parties to make it a part of their manifesto. Meanwhile, we will be providing inputs to the state climate action cell for the first state climate action plan in Maharashtra as well. Once the elections are over, we will coordinate with the elected representatives for these additions," said Nulkar.They emphasised that the state must urgently focus on climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction to address the local impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, food and water insecurity, and challenges of energy access for the state's most vulnerable communities.Mendes said, "Maharashtra must urgently scale up climate adaptation efforts to protect its people from the worsening impacts of climate change, particularly in sectors of agriculture, water and energy security, and disaster preparedness. The state assembly elections are coinciding with COP29."The experts said there is a need to fund decentralised locally-led solutions that strengthen resilience on the ground, appealing to all the political parties fighting elections in Maharashtra to declare their plans for climate mitigation and adaptation.The group wanted a greater focus on topics such as loss and damage mechanisms in countries, a new collective quantified goal on climate finance, circular economy, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction to safeguard Maharashtra's vulnerable communities.These points have also been key areas of discussion at COP29, including energy security through decentralised renewable solutions, which will improve energy access for rural communities, usage of biomass waste for energy production, and using nature-based solutions for conserving climate change.The group pushed for on-ground change and implementation, which can only occur through political leaders adapting and mitigating climate change through policies.
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