Understanding Urban Climate Action in India

Overview

The webinar organised on 22nd November, 2024, explored why urban centers are essential players in addressing climate challenges, while identifying the key stakeholders driving these efforts, and unpacking the significant barriers they encounter along the way. Akshay Agarwal, Urban Collective Action Network, moderated the panel comprising Jaya Dhindaw, WRI India and Shruti Narayan, C40 Cities.

Objectives 

• Understand various groups of stakeholders in climate action
• Why it’s important to involve people in decision-making
• Understand the link between climate action and governance
• Systemic challenges in involving people in climate action

Key insights:

• Prioritisation is critical: Cities have competing priorities – for instance, everything took a backseat during the pandemic. Therefore, working closely with the government, short-term and long-term actions need to be determined. Articulation of benefits is also key to these actions being successful. 
• You can’t manage what you can’t measure: Cities need to understand their existing carbon footprint in order to take a data-driven evidence-based approach to climate action. We also need to understand what the true cost of climate disasters are – right now governments are more reactionary than proactive in quick-fixes for the issues climate change is creating in our cities. 
• How do we use the money we already have: Based on Mumbai’s experience with climate budgeting, it’s not that there is need for more money, but it is about utilising the money that already exists and align it better with climate action.