What we did
Cities are both contributing to and affected by climate change. They consume as much as 80 percent of energy production worldwide and account for a roughly equal share of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Simultaneously many urban sprawls are already suffering from the negative impacts of climate change: low-lying coastal areas such as Kochi, are threatened by rising sea levels and storm surges; drier climate zones such as Bhubaneswar, are constantly met with droughts and water shortages. Apart from geo-climatic impacts, cities are also dealing with heat islands in the densely built-up urban landscape. Unprecedented urbanization and disproportion of economic opportunities across region exacerbates these problems. By 2050, 6.5 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population, are expected to live in sprawling metropolises. There is a great need to support climate sensitive development in cities, with an aim to integrate climate considerations into regular planning and implementation. Presently, local capacities for effective execution of urban climate strategies are limited in Indian cities.
How we tracked
1.Development of light touch ‘Climate Resilient City Action Plan’ for Kochi City
2.Updation of GHG inventory for Coimbatore city
3.Development of indicators for ‘Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework’ and implementation of test run of the framework in project cities.
4.Methodology and template for assessing climate change mitigation and adaptation impact of climate actions included in smart city proposals of cities is prepared
What we achieved
Through this project, ICLEI enables adoption, implementation and dissemination of the best practices adopted by various Indian cities and setting benchmarks of creating climate resilient and sustainable urban habitats.The Climate Smart Cities program integrates climate change considerations into the planning and implementation of projects of the Smart City Plans in the three cities of Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Kochi (Kerala). ICLEI is carrying out detailed assessment of Smart City plans of these cities to understand the baseline with reference to existing climate change measures and assess climate mitigation and adaptation potential of the smart city proposals. ICLEI is also contributing towards formulation of Government of India’s ‘Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF)’ and facilitating test run of this framework in the project cities and hand holding them to submit the indicators data on the CSCAF. The project will facilitate enhanced and effective roll-out of the smart city actions in the cities.
