The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Economic Forum today to collaborate on a jointly designed Sustainable Cities India program.
The program will aim to create an enabling environment for cities to generate decarbonization solutions across the energy, transport, and built environment sectors.
This initiative is particularly noteworthy as it comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated India’s commitment to turn net-zero by 2070 as a climate mitigation response at COP26.
What is Sustainable Cities India program?
The Sustainable Cities India program intends to enable cities to decarbonize in a systematic and sustainable way that will reduce emissions and deliver resilient and equitable urban ecosystems.
The Forum and NIUA will adapt the Forum’s City Sprint process and Toolbox of Solutions for decarbonization in the context of five to seven Indian cities across two years.
What is the City Sprint Process?
The City Sprint process is a series of multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder workshops involving business, government, and civil society leaders to enable decarbonization, especially through clean electrification and circularity.
The outcome of the workshop series will be a shortlist of relevant policies and business models, which not only reduce emissions but also maximize System Value, such as improved air quality or job creation.
City Sprints will help to jumpstart and/or accelerate net zero planning and action. The City Sprint process uses the Toolbox of Solutions – a digital platform containing over 200 examples of clean electrification, efficiency, and smart infrastructure best practices and case studies across buildings, energy systems, and mobility from over 110 cities around the world.
The City Sprint process will also enable cities to run pilot solutions and, based on findings, India will be able to contribute 10 to 40 best practice case studies which will be integrated into the Toolbox of Solutions and showcased across the world.
Remarks by dignitaries
Speaking at the MoU signing event, Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said, “India is committed to becoming Net-Zero by 2070, aligning with its vision for a ‘future ready’ India set by Prime Minister during the COP26 summit in Glasgow”.
He said further that in realizing this vision to accelerate the clean energy transition, conversation and more importantly, action amongst all actors of the quadruple helix is critical.
“This partnership between NIUA and WEF is an important step in that direction. This collaboration will help cities in India and cities globally to learn from one another and drive action towards sustainable development and climate resilience”, he added.
Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs said, “India is rapidly urbanizing; its scale and pace is unprecedented. It is imperative for institutions to prioritize and embed climate resilience in the urban development process”.
“In this regard, cross-sector and inter-organizational partnerships are crucial to foster an exchange of knowledge and identify best practices that can be applied effectively in the Indian context” he elaborated further.
Seeing great value in NIUA’s collaboration with WEF, he said that “it will not only build the capacities of urban practitioners in India through the City Sprint workshops but also provide them access to a global Toolbox of Solutions and connect with other potential partners in our vision to make Indian cities future-ready”.
Kristen Panerali, from the World Economic Forum, said that new models of public and private collaboration are needed to make progress towards net-zero goals.
“The City Sprint workshops are designed to enable government and business leaders to work together to identify and implement solutions across energy, mobility, and the built environment. We don’t need to wait for the next breakthrough idea – the technologies and business models already exist”, she added.
She said further that through this collaboration, the Toolbox of Solutions will continue to evolve and expand to provide ideas to urban centers in India, and around the world.
As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, densely populated countries that are highly dependent on agriculture, such as India, are especially vulnerable to climate insecurity.
Decarbonization in cities is a real opportunity to keep global warming well below 2°C and cities in India can make an enormous contribution in reaching this goal.
What is Net Zero Carbon Cities Mission?
The World Economic Forum’s Net Zero Carbon Cities’ mission is to create an enabling environment for clean electrification and circularity, resulting in urban decarbonization and resilience.
The program aims to do this by fostering public-private collaboration to bridge the gap across the energy, built environment, and transport sectors.
National Institute of Urban Affairs
Established in 1976, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is India’s leading national think tank on urban planning and development.
As a hub for the generation and dissemination of cutting-edge research in the urban sector, NIUA seeks to provide innovative solutions to address the challenges of a fast urbanizing India and pave the way for more inclusive and sustainable cities of the future.