Climate change is real, sustainable development our only option: Thackeray

MUMBAI: Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Government of Maharashtra said that the climate change threat is real and this calls for sustainable development as a call to action. Thackeray interacted with students on an event on climate, connectivity, and future course as a part of Colaba Conversation 2021 by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on Wednesday, December 1.

Thackery mentioned that the state government is focused on developing Mumbai as a lead city and it is already on the path of becoming one. He said that development and environment can go simultaneously. He further added that India needs its own blue imperative for coastal cities and marine resources which can put coastal cities as the main stakeholder in geo-economics. Moreover, while talking over electric vehicles (EVs), he reiterated that 30 percent of vehicles running in Maharashtra will be EVs by 2025. Thane is keeping a track of the development of charging infrastructure and this will come upon a large scale in the next 15 months.

He tried to touch on every topic corresponding to sustainable growth and going further with the discussion he also mentioned that the state government has placed orders for 2100 electric buses for public transport in Mumbai. From 2022 onwards, every new government vehicle to be bought or rented will be electric, he added.