Mumbai, Sep 23 Mumbai will host a series of programmes on the emerging green economy next week with policymakers, industry representatives, investors and experts discussing bamboo economy, India’s ethanol sector and the economic value of natural carbon assets.
The ‘Bamboo Economy and Sustainability Summit 2026’ will be held on September 27 at The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake under the theme ‘The Future is Bamboo: Climate, Construction, Commerce, Communities’.
Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma will be the chief guest, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will preside over the event in the presence of Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, the organisers said.
Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne, Information Technology and Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar and KP Group Chairman and Managing Director Dr Faruk Patel will be the special guests of honour.
Industries Minister Uday Samant will chair the welcome committee, while ministers Bharat Gogawale and Jaykumar Gore will be its co-chairs.
The summit will discuss bamboo-based construction, biomass energy, carbon credits, farm incomes and rural employment. A policy roundtable is expected to consider a ‘Mumbai Declaration on Bamboo Economy’.
The Maharashtra Bamboo Industry Policy 2025 aims to attract Rs 50,000 crore in investment, create more than five lakh employment opportunities and develop 15 bamboo industrial clusters, Pasha Patel, executive chairman of the Chief Minister’s Task Force on Environment and Sustainability, said at a press conference.
The use of agricultural byproducts for producing fuel was not a new idea, Patel said, and referred to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s discussion of molasses, a by-product of sugar production, and its potential use for making power alcohol.
He said India now needed to focus on biofuels and explore ways of using agricultural produce and byproducts to meet its energy requirements.
Farming could face increasing challenges because of climate change, Patel said, stressing the need to look at new opportunities for farmers.
Patel also referred to the potential of biofuels to reduce dependence on conventional fossil fuels, and said technical experts were being brought in to explain the subject.
He said protecting and promoting biofuels was important in view of the environmental challenges facing humanity.
The Bharat Ethanol Forum 2026 will be held on September 28 and 29 at the same venue under the theme ‘Fuelling Bharat, Powering Growth’.
Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagde, Fadnavis and Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be the chief guests.
The forum will discuss the next phase of India’s biofuel economy, including feedstock availability, grain-based ethanol, second-generation ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles, Patel said.
Discussions will also cover sustainable aviation fuel, bio-methanol and compressed biogas. The Indian Green Energy Forum will participate in sessions on the E20 economy.
The third component of the programme is a proposed Mumbai Carbon Bank, which is being pursued by the NatConnect Foundation to examine the economic value of carbon stored and sequestered by bamboo, mangroves, wetlands, urban forests and other ecosystems in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Patel has taken up the Green-Blue Carbon concept with Fadnavis, who has agreed to study the proposal, according to the release.
The proposed initiative envisages assessing carbon stocks and sequestration along with ecosystem services such as flood mitigation, biodiversity and climate resilience.
The concept forms part of NatConnect’s broader ‘Flamingo Blue Carbon Urban Complex’ framework and is also being examined through an ongoing academic research project, with NatConnect director B N Kumar as a co-author, Patel said.
B N Kumar said the proposed model could eventually be replicated across Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country.
Rajasthan Governor Bagde will also be the chief guest at the valedictory function of the bamboo summit.
(PTI News)
