WRI India supported Mumbai’s government in launching a new climate-focused department and allocating one-third of the city’s capital budget to achieving its climate action plan.
The Challenge
Mumbai, India is grappling with air pollution, erratic monsoons, worsening floods and landslides, and increasingly extreme heat. Its 17 million residents — around half of whom live in slums — are feeling the effects.
Mumbai launched a pioneering climate action plan in 2022, pledging to slash planet-warming emissions and build resilience to mounting climate change impacts. It was the first city in South Asia with a target to achieve net-zero emissions. But moving from planning to action proved difficult. Like many cities, Mumbai struggled to integrate climate priorities across government agencies and mobilize the finance needed to undertake climate action on such a large scale.
WRI’s Role
WRI India has worked closely with Mumbai’s government since 2021 to assess local climate risks and develop the city’s climate action plan. Over the last two years, our focus shifted from planning to implementation, helping build the skills and staff capacity needed to achieve the city’s goals. Specifically, WRI India supported Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in creating a new government department focused on climate action and aligning the city’s budget with climate-friendly priorities.
The Outcome
In June 2024, Mumbai published its first climate budget, allocating approximately $1.2 billion — over 32% of the city’s total expenditure — to climate action. It was the fourth city in the world to create a climate budget, after Oslo, London and New York.
The funds will support a wide range of projects to reduce emissions, build resilience and improve lives — from installing solar panels at hospitals and markets to creating new urban gardens, improving water management and reducing air pollution. Some of these actions target underserved communities who are most vulnerable to pollution and the threats of climate change.
The city also announced its new Environment and Climate Change Department, which includes over 50 new positions to advance mitigation and adaptation. It will coordinate climate measures across agencies and external partners while helping city staff better incorporate climate considerations into their work.
Three other cities in the same state — Nashik, Solapur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad); and Bengaluru, another Indian megacity in Karnataka state — have since followed Mumbai’s lead, launching their own climate action plans with support from WRI India. The government of Maharashtra state also recently mandated that 43 cities develop their own climate action plans.
