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Building Climate-Resilient Indian Cities
Context:
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), 2022 recorded a significant number of heat wave days and cold wave days, as well as severe flooding events, indicating the growing risks of climate change.
Worsening Extreme Weather Events:
- Indian cities face increasing threats from heat waves, cold waves, floods, cyclones, extreme precipitation, and rising sea levels, as reported by the IMD and international agencies like the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
- In 2022, India recorded 280 heat wave days, a 0.51°C increase in mean surface temperature, 57 cold wave days, and significant flooding across multiple states.
Climate Fallout for Cities:
- Climate change severely impacts municipal infrastructure, livelihoods, and city economies, with cascading effects such as:
- Air Pollution: Responsible for 120,000 deaths in key Indian cities in 2021.
- Economic Losses: RBI warns of a 4.5% drop in GDP by 2030 due to climate-related job losses.
- Degraded Air Quality: Delhi and Mumbai are grappling with worsening air pollution, with Mumbai reaching alarming levels from November 2023.
Climate Resilience in Governance:
- As urbanisation continues, a larger proportion of India’s population will reside in cities, making it crucial to address climate resilience in urban planning.
- Indian cities contribute significantly to climate change, consuming 75% of global primary energy and generating 75% of global CO₂ emissions.
- Despite initiatives like the National Clean Air Mission, progress is slow, and attention to climate resilience remains inadequate.
- However, India’s progress on achieving SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) is currently lacking, with cities like Delhi and Mumbai experiencing significant air pollution, undermining efforts to create resilient urban areas.
Need for Climate Action Plans (CAPs):
- Global Practices: Cities in countries like France, the UK, the US, South Korea, and Japan mandate CAPs aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.
- Indian Examples:
- Mumbai’s Municipal Climate Action Plan (MCAP) 2022 identifies key threats (urban flooding, air pollution, coastal risks) and proposes strategies like a Climate Cell for implementation and monitoring.
- Chennai has also developed a CAP but faces challenges in implementation.
- Challenges: CAPs are not legally mandated in India. Financial and institutional mechanisms for implementation remain weak.
Recommendations:
- Legislative and Policy Changes
- Mandating Climate Action: Climate action plans must be made compulsory for cities, with annual budgeting and reporting.
- State Support: Smaller cities need state handholding for preparing and implementing CAPs. States should create platforms for sharing best practices in climate resilience.
- Sustainability as a Guiding Principle: Cities must address fundamental questions about urban density, construction limits, and green space preservation to ensure sustainable urban development.n
- Tasks like construction practices, waste management, and green technology adoption must align with climate goals.
- Educational and Behavioral Shifts: Educational institutions must emphasise capacity-building for climate resilience and encourage environmentally responsible behaviour: Promoting water conservation and waste minimisation, and encouraging the use of public transport and urban agriculture.
