Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday inaugurated Mumbai Climate Week, projecting the city as a potential climate finance hub for the Global South. Addressing global leaders, innovators, philanthropists and youth representatives, he urged international institutions to collaborate on scalable and sustainable infrastructure models tailored for emerging economies.
“Mumbai Climate Week marks an important milestone: India’s first platform dedicated to accelerating climate action at scale, with a focus on empowering Mumbai, India, and the Global South. And there is no better city to host this conversation than Mumbai a city that has remained resilient through its glorious history,” he said.
Highlighting the tangible consequences of climate change, Fadnavis remarked, “When Mumbai experiences extreme rainfall, it is not a mere statistic. It is trains halted, homes flooded, businesses disrupted, and livelihoods interrupted. When heat waves intensify, it is not a graph on a presentation; it is construction workers, street vendors, and farmers facing real hardship.”
He underscored India’s renewable energy strides, stating, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, India has crossed over 260 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, one of the fastest clean energy expansions globally. Just a few days ago, India added an additional 55 gigawatts to its 552-gigawatt installed capacity in just one year, led by 75% renewable sources, much of it from Maharashtra.”
Outlining Maharashtra’s roadmap, he said the state is scaling green hydrogen, electric mobility, biofuels and sustainable infrastructure across industrial corridors and urban centres.
Calling for stronger climate finance partnerships, he noted, “Mumbai, as India’s financial capital, can become a climate finance gateway for the Global South. Developing economies require trillions of dollars for sustainable infrastructure, and we invite global institutions to partner with us in building scalable models that can be replicated across emerging economies.”
Invoking Mission LiFE, he added, “India has also presented to the world the idea of ‘Mission LiFE’: Lifestyle for Environment. It reminds us that sustainability is also about behaviour. Responsible consumption, efficient resource use, and mindful living are powerful drivers of change. When policy, finance, technology, and lifestyle converge, transition becomes transformative. History will not judge us by declaration; it will judge us by execution. By the megawatts we deploy, by the emissions we avoid, by the cities we protect, by the farmers we support, and by the systems we modernise. Maharashtra stands committed to scaling solutions. ‘Mumbai stands ready to lead. India stands ready to partner’,” he said.
He further stressed that Mumbai Climate Week must evolve beyond dialogue into tangible delivery. The summit was attended by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, MMRDA Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee, UNEP Global Head Martin Krause and senior officials from Project Mumbai.
Source: ANI News
