The Maharashtra Government has announced that it has signed MoU with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) India. RMI will provide technical support to implement the freshly launched EV Policy by the state government. The signing took place at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow, UK.
''We look forward to further partnership on electric mobility, ZEV, hydrogen fuel and decarbonization our transport sector and urban renewal sector,'' said Aaditya Thackeray, minister of environment and tourism.
He said that RMI has been partnering with RMI India, an organization working on India's clean energy and mobility issues, to work along with public and private sector agencies on electric mobility. In Maharashtra, RMI has already been engaging with the city of Pune through its City EV Accelerator platform to make Pune EV-ready.
RMI CEO Jule Kortenhorst highlighted the need to mobilize climate finance and suggested the establishment of a state-backed Green Investment Bank to help finance Maharashtra's climate ambitions. He said, "Maharashtra is showing the leadership for climate action by sub-national governments. The size and scale of economic growth in Maharashtra provide it the unique opportunity to leapfrog to clean and modern energy systems and be the role model for sub-national governments, not just in India, but globally."
RMI India Senior Director Akshima Ghate said, "Maharashtra has notified one of the most progressive sub-national EV policies. RMI India is inspired by the Minister's vision for 100 percent electrification of public transport in the state and is looking forward to bringing together RMI and RMI India's expertise to support the state in decarbonizing its transportation sector."
Going forward, RMI will work with Maharashtra's State Council on Climate Change to chart out a decarbonization route for the state.