Context

• India recently submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) to the UNFCCC, during the COP27 held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• Among all multi-sectoral strategies described in the LT-LEDS document, the article emphasises climate-resilient urbanization as a cornerstone to meeting India's obligation under the Paris Agreement to achieve net-zero emissions status by 2070.

About LT-LEDS

• It is a commitment document under the 2015 Paris Agreement that is qualitative in nature and puts an obligation upon signatories to the to work towards the larger climate objective of cutting emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero around 2050.
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India’s LT-LEDS

• It rests on seven key transitions to low-carbon development pathways as follows:
  • Low-carbon electricity systems consistent with development.
  • Develop an integrated, efficient, inclusive low-carbon transport system.
  • Promote adaptation in urban design, energy and material-efficiency in buildings, and sustainable urbanization.
  • Decoupling growth from emissions and developing an efficient, low-emission industrial system.
  • CO2 removal and related engineering solutions.
  • Enhancing forest cover consistent with socioeconomic and ecological considerations.
  • Increasing climate resilience in poverty eradication and employment creation.

For LT-LEDS it is critical to focus on urban areas

• As per Census 2011, 31% of the country’s population lived in urban areas. India’s urban population is estimated to reach 37% by 2030 and 70% of India’s GDP in 2030 is expected to be generated from urban regions.
• Due to the concentration of economic activity in urban agglomerations, energy consumption, and consequently emissions are higher in cities making these important regions for climate action.
• Thus the three-pronged and long-term plan for urban areas in LT-LEDS focuses on the following:
  • Adaptation and resource efficiency in urban planning
  • Climate-responsive and climate-resilient buildings
  • Low-carbon municipal service delivery

The cases of Bhopal and Jaipur

• Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The urban transport sector is among the key contributors to GHG emissions in Bhopal, constituting for 19% of the city’s GHG emissions.
  • Though Bhopal favours non-motorised transport (NMT) like Walking and Bicycling with a 43% NMT modal share but provides only 24% of its population access to public bike docking stops and only half of its streets have footpaths.
  • Though the Smart Cities Mission has made significant investments in NMT in Bhopal but the use of this infrastructure has been sub-optimal.
• Jaipur (Rajasthan): It has only 1.42 sq.m per capita of open space against a benchmark of 12 sq.m per person, thus experiencing various hazards that include heat waves, droughts and urban flooding.
  • In industrial pockets, the urban heat island impact is greater with temperatures higher by 1.1°C.
  • The city has also witnessed a decline in porous surfaces (by 50%) in the last three decades, thereby a corresponding sharp increase in surface stormwater run-off (156%).

Current policies promoting sustainable urbanisation in India

• For urban planning: National Urban Missions such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Local Area Plans (LAPs), etc.
• For design of the buildings: National Building Code, Energy Conservation Building Code, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), Energy Conservation (EC) Act, etc.
  • Rating systems such as Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
• For municipal services: Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, National Water Policy, National Environment Policy, National Urban Sanitation Policy, Jal Jeevan Mission, Extended Producer Responsibility (2021), Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules (2021), Solid Waste Management Rules (2016), etc.

Way forward

• Need for a data-driven approach: To facilitate implementation of the LT-LEDS, a data-driven approach is significant as described below:
  • Planning tools: It involves display of urban planning strategies aimed at climate resilience through comprehensive stakeholder participation and specific actions and interventions backed by sound data and linking them to various finance streams accessible to the urban local bodies.
  • Demonstration: For instance, the Urban Sustainability Assessment Framework (USAF) is a decision support tool of UN-Habitat for municipal commissioners and urban practitioners.
• Redesigning spaces for cities like Bhopal: By spatial analysis and designing ‘shared streets’ for personal vehicles, public transport, NMT and pedestrians, and linking them with future economic activity zones and underserved areas for cumulative community impact.
• Climate change adaptation solutions for cities like Bhopal: There are several macro and micro-options available to Jaipur such as following to improve the micro-climate and environmental conditions:
  • For example, it can also increase its resilience by setting up community recharge pits in neighbourhood parks, and increasing permeable spaces along mobility corridors to decrease the run-off by a sizeable fraction.
• Other measures needed:
  • The city performance indicators like Municipal Performance Index can also help outline an evidence-based approach to make cities sustainable, resilient and inclusive by analyzing different verticals like Services, Finance, Policy, Technology and Governance.
  • Also, on-ground convergence of various urban missions can be done by identifying wards to co-locate investments for holistic and integrated city-level transformations.

Conclusion

• Active involvement from various tiers of government, non-governmental, community-based organisations, and academic institutions is desirable at each step from building a sustainability profile by planning to building resilient urban spaces.
• This is in the spirit of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan which affirms that sustainable and just solutions to the climate crisis must be founded on meaningful and effective social dialogue and participation of all stakeholders.