‘Nobody is safe till everybody is safe’

On Saturday the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh Auditorium will host a lecture that expands on the work of the late journalist Darryl DrsquoMonte Known for his untiring crusade for the green spaces of Mumbai the late editor will be honoured through the second annual Darryl DrsquoMonte Memorial Lecture by Sunita Narain director general of Centre for Science and Environment CSE Ahead of her lecture titled Climate Change in an Increasingly Unequal and Polarized World The Future Agenda for Action she speaks to us about her learnings from the recent COP28 in 2023 Mumbairsquos falling air quality and public transportEdited excerpts from the conversationYour talk comes on the back of your recent visit to COP28 in Dubai where you also spoke about the equitable distribution of the energy burden How does this translate into action going forwardSunita Narain This has been a contested issue for many decades since the world agreed upon a framework convention of climate change Energy is at the core of the transition that is needed The fact also is that energy is part of the economic growth system of each country This is why negotiations on an equitable energy transition have been difficultSunita NarainIn Dubai for the first time we have the recognition in documents that fossil fuels are a problem It now comes down to the action agenda For a country like India it is very clear that in our best interest we need to find a way to grow without pollution For instance take the issue of mobility We know that if we were to reduce the number of cars on the road it would help us reduce emissions and air pollution But this would mean scaling up public transport and improving last mile connectivity The right to walk and the right to cycle are all part of the plan ahead and need to be looked atIn this context Mumbai has been in the limelight for falling air quality pollutants and rising construction How does a city balance its need for development with the risk of environmental damageSN In Mumbai it is not just construction Our data clearly shows that it is a factor of all four pollutants mdash vehicles on the road use of coal in industries on the periphery waste burning and dust from construction Dust per se is not a pollutant but when it is coated with emissions it becomes one Moving ahead Mumbai needs to strategise accordingly You cannot tackle just one issue to find a solutionLimiting dust from construction is easy through sprinkling of water barricading and regular monitoring etc They are not foolproof but are mitigating measures With vehicular emission the only way is to augment public transport Mumbai is better than Delhi in its usage of suburban railway networks but is still growing at a fast rate in terms of vehicle ownership This is clearly something that the city has to factor in when coming up with a planI was happy to note on a recent visit that there are quite a few electric cars and taxis in Mumbai but there is a need for more like how Delhi moved its auto rickshaws and buses to CNG This would require a mandate and massive investment that enables the rickshaw drivers and public transport owners mdash who are not rich or privileged mdash to agree to such measures Then of course is the use of coal in the industries on the peripheries of the city The only alternative is to provide them with affordable gas but that is not available to India at affordable rates Essentially we need to take hard and tough measures and we are not doing it either in Mumbai Delhi or around the world This will be part of my talk aheadHow will these measures fall in place when there is an immediate need for growing infrastructure that adds to the mananimal conflict as is witnessed in MumbaiSN Many people believe and rightly so that infrastructure is a necessity Faster and smoother connectivity will reduce time and fuel consumption My argument is that along with these new road infrastructures we need to plan scaled up systems of transportation through buses and trains rather than cars The experience around the world teaches us that the more you build the more cars will fill up the spaceDarryl DrsquoMonteEven now in Mumbai as in Delhi only 20 to 30 per cent of the population utilise cars and twowheelers If the infrastructure is not planned intelligently today there will be no road space left No matter how many links you build through the sea or around it they will be filled up As far as the mananimal conflict is concerned we need to recognise and find a way to address it Urban India needs a strategy It is something we need to discuss and not just pass it onDoes this imply that there is a need for civil society in Mumbai Delhi to step up and have a more active role in how infrastructure is shaped particularly in view of the climate crisisSN The crisis is growing We all need to be part of the discussions and engaged If we are not we are like ostriches with our heads buried in the sand People in Mumbai would often say lsquoDelhi is so pollutedrsquo I would tell them Mumbai has the same sources of pollution The only advantage is the sea breeze You donrsquot feel the pollution but that does not mean it isnrsquot there You need to deal with the source Today it is hitting home in MumbaiAir pollution is a great equaliser If the poor in the city do not have access to clean energy the rich will have to breathe the same air Climate change teaches us that we cannot act alone Everybody needs to be part of the solution and nobody is safe till everybody is safe We need development and we also need a sea link But we need to find ways to mitigate any potential damage I donrsquot have specific details but we need to move carefully on the issueThis makes the lecture and the talk in the name of the late Darryl DrsquoMonte all the more relevantSN I strongly believe that change in society comes through an understanding of issues This understanding has to be in depth nuanced and rigorous It is not about bland overarching statements Darryl DrsquoMonte stood for this mdash the investigation the rigour and the analysis Thatrsquos why the lecture in Darrylrsquos name is so important Journalists are a major part of the solutionOn February 3 6 pm to 730 pmAt Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh Auditorium Mahanagarpalika Road near Azad Maidan