Climate questions before Bengaluru

In a country like India, still blissfully unaware of the climate threats lapping up its shores an an urgent need to ramp up its commitment to the Paris Agreement as well as take strong local action to help restrict temperature rise to less than 1.5 degree celsius, Bengaluru stands out but only marginally so. Having committed to the Paris Agreement like the rest of the country and being a part of the C40 cities network which seeks to channelize the collective actions for effectively reducing the impacts of climate change, Bengaluru has a lot on its plate.

The choices are stark. If Bengaluru wants to be carbon neutral, a honest assessment of the current situation in order to design a future climate action plan is the way forward. This action plan should focus on hitherto ‘black-spots’ and tackle issues of efficient transport planning, waste management, better air quality and so on. The emphasis on an effective climate action plan should expand to include the entire state and neighbouring regions as well.

A good starting point could be to conduct an assessment of inventory of current practices to understand the complex inter-linkage between climate and activities such as waste management, construction, energy systems, forest management and so on.

From a city point of view, preserving the existing greenery of the forest is perhaps the most important intervention needed now. The key focus of reviving the city starts with the surprisingly simple act of not cutting trees as the entire hullabaloo around planting new trees is an ecologically long drawn process, while existing trees are already busy sequestering carbon unless cut down.

While India is a signatory to several multilateral and bilateral agreements, on the other hand, the states often work at cross purposes. Destructive activities such as the Hubbali Ankola rail project, the myopic Turahalli tree park project, issues related to Hesarghatta lake and cutting of existing trees are akin to the fable of several blind men and an elephant.

Bengaluru also needs to ensure that commitments are adhered to. A long-planned tree survey is still to happen. Projects such as Tendersure may work at several locations but cases of cutting trees and planting shrubs instead are flawed approaches to sustainability. Lake management is still a controversial issue with significant amount of money poured into fencing, planting trees, beautifying, removing solid waste and creating common spaces while the issues of treating inflow of grey waste is often neglected. From a climate change perspective, as recent floods and droughts in North Karnataka, Kodagu, Bengaluru, Kerala and many places suggest that the complexities of a water stressed nation are likely to intensify in the future. Flawed lake management should not add to our complicated approach to nature and aspects such as protection of catchment areas should deserve greater attention in addition to waste treatment before inflow falls into lakes.

With Bengaluru and London being city leads for monitoring air quality network, the onus falls upon city planners as well to take the lead. Bengaluru city has infact taken measures to address issues of environmental dissonance and hopes to build upon its legacy of being the first city to pass rules regarding building water harvesting. A series of activities have been planned in the coming year to help improve the quality of life of Bengalurians. Some measures identified include rejuvenation of 25 lakes in the next 12 months, measurement of ambient air quality monitoring programs and setup of measuring stations. Also planned is a special drive of planting upto 10 lakh trees during this year and creation of tree parks where necessary. Additionally, traffic engineering measures are being addressed such as better lane management, rectifying spot of traffic inefficiency, bus priority lanes, focus on non-motorized transport methods and on suburban rail projects that aims to complement the metro network. Additionally, electric vehicles are also being promoted as part of the electric vehicle policy of the state with focus on ease of manufacturing as well as sales. It is estimated that atleast 1000 charging points will be setup in the coming year to improve customer comfort in charging electric vehicles.

The city still suffers from the colonial trait of a largely withdrawn policy planning and implementation. Inclusive participation with stakeholders such as waste pickers and ward committees could go a long way in reducing the quantity of waste being sent out to increasingly hostile village communities. Certain attitudinal and institutional changes can also work wonders.

Young climate activist say that incorporating urban environment into our education system have the potential to work wonders. While current curriculums definitely needs an upgrade, hands on activity such as planting trees or tracking the waste-cycle should be promoted with school going children. More inclusive talks as well as engagements between young people and institutions such BBMP as well as ward committees can provide children an opportunity to understand the inner working of such bodies while also provide space for a breath of fresh idea for policy planners.  

Lastly, the hitherto overlooked feature of entertainment options for young people should be reassessed. As any visitor to an European country would testify, open space for interactions, games, art, community service and even space for pets to play unchained can have a positive impression on young minds vis-a-vis spending an inordinate amount of money and time in energy consuming malls. Bengaluru still retains several open common spaces, what it needs is a little encouragement for the young to adopt such spaces as their own.