Workshop on ‘Developing a Net Zero Vision’ for Pune in Partnership with The British High Commission, India’

Pune, 14th March 2024: The British High Commission, India, in partnership with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had organized a workshop on ‘Developing a Net Zero Vision for Pune’. The workshop is part of the ongoing Net Zero Emissions Project, supported by the British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai, in partnership with the Pune Municipal Corporation. The vision is developed based on information collected from stakeholder consultations held over the last two months with PMC departments, state level and city level agencies, private partners and non-profits organisations.

Vikram Kumar, Municipal Commissioner, Dr. Kunal Khemnar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Dr. Sanjay Kolte, Chairman & Managing Director, PMPML, Ms. Catherine Barnes, Deputy Head of Mission, British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai and Andrew Francis, Head of Climate Diplomacy, FCDO, UK participated in the workshop. This workshop was facilitated by Mr. Yeen Chan, Senior Director, ICF Consulting, a distinguished Net Zero expert from the United Kingdom.

The workshop saw participation from the government agencies including PMC, MEDA, PMPML, Maha Metro, MNGL, Pune Smart City, PMRDA and the Pune Divisional Commissioner’s office. In addition, the representation was also from academia, private sector and industry. The consultations covered detailed discussions on various emission-related sectors, including energy, transport, waste, carbon sequestration, and other ancillary fields. The 45+ participants were divided into four working groups to identify and prioritize the key action items required for Pune city to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Catherine Barnes, Deputy Head of Mission, British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai said “The ‘Net Zero Vision Setting Workshop for Pune City’ is an excellent example of the strong UK-India partnership on achieving shared climate goals. Pune City has been at the forefront of addressing climate goals in the face of rapid urbanisation and economic development. We are proud to partner with Pune Municipal Corporation to support Pune City’s commitment to work towards achieving Net Zero.

Vikram Kumar, Municipal Commissioner, said, “India is committed to net zero by 2070 with a target to reduce emissions, Pune city is taking many pro-active steps towards reducing its carbon emissions and greenhouse gases by promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.”

Dr. Kunal Khemnar, Additional Municipal Commissioner said, “It is important to take local level actions to combat climate change. To bring about the change, actions require mix of policies, financial support, and technical assistance. The city’s actions will be prioritized phasing out fossil fuel energies, developing new waste to energy projects, increase carbon sequestration potential of city.”

This workshop is the first step towards “Developing a Net Zero Vision document for Pune city”. This document will help Pune city align its projects and schemes towards achieving the vision. The vision document will be targeting sectors of Energy, Waste Management, Transport and Green cover.