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UK Minister Priti Patel MP launches Roadmap to Climate Resilient Kolkata

35nsar Ahmed Ullah ::
 
The UK Minister Priti Patel met with the Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee on 8 Jan launching a roadmap to create a low-carbon and climate resilient city in West Bengal.

During the launch, Priti Patel spoke about Britain and India’s joint partnership that is leading the world in the fight against climate change, working to cut its own emissions and help less developed countries cut theirs.

UK Indian Diaspora Champion, Priti Patel said, ‘Britain is already leading the way in work to cut emissions and help less developed countries cut theirs.  For example, over the last five years through our £3.87 billion International Climate Fund the UK has supported millions of the world’s poorest to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.  And in September, the Prime Minister announced an increase of at least 50% in the UK’s climate finance, to £5.8 billion over the next 5 years.

‘And I believe today is a huge step forward for the future of Kolkata.  The low-carbon and climate resilient Roadmap shows how this great city is thinking ahead, supporting sustainable economic growth, and playing its part in the international effort.’

Once implemented, the Roadmap will not only lower the city’s carbon emissions, but will also grow West Bengal’s green economy, attracting large-scale investment in solar, solid waste management, energy efficient municipal services, as well as creating over a million new green jobs over the next 10 years.

All this will help Kolkata become a beacon of climate friendly city planning, and encourage businesses looking to make sustainable, long-term economic investments in India to look at the city first.

Priti Patel congratulated the Mayor, his team and their British partner for the Roadmap, adding that she looked forward to sharing Kolkata’s success story with other cities across the world.

Kolkata is extremely vulnerable to climate change, since it is exposed to sea level rise, flooding and climate-induced disasters. Also the unprecedented scale and speed of urbanisation is fast emerging as an enhancer of the risk.  The British Deputy High Commission Kolkata has been working closely with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to address these issues through innovative tools and policies.

During UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Kolkata along with UK Minister Priti Patel on 14 November 2013, the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The UK Government provided technical assistance of £ 1 million to implement this initiative.