Context: World Economic Forum(WF) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a jointly designed ‘Sustainable Cities India program’.
About the Program

• The program intends to enable cities to decarbonise in a systematic and sustainable way that will reduce emissions and deliver resilient and equitable urban ecosystems.
• This initiative is in synergy with India’s commitment to turn net zero by 2070 as a climate mitigation response at COP26.

How will the NIUA and WEF collaborate for this Sustainable Cities India program?
WEF and NIUA will adapt the WEF’s City Sprint process and Toolbox of Solutions for decarbonization in the context of five to seven Indian cities across two years.

• City Sprint process: It 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.

Toolbox of Solutions: This sprint process uses the Toolbox of Solutions. It is 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 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. These shortlisted models will also be included in Toolbox of Solutions to showcase to the world.

Key significance of the Sustainable Cities India program

• Firstly, 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. Hence, 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.
• Secondly, this initiative is particularly noteworthy as it comes after the Prime Minister of India stated India’s commitment to turn net-zero by 2070 as a climate mitigation response at COP26.

About Net Zero Carbon Cities Mission

• Launched by: World Economic Forum
• Aim: 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.

By: Shubham Tiwari