On February 24, 2022, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) of India signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a jointly designed Sustainable Cities- India Program during a virtual MoU signing event.
- The program aims to enable decarbonisation of Indian cities and reduce emissions across the energy, transport, and the built environment sectors in sustainable and systematic ways.
- This initiative is on the lines of India’s commitment to turn net zero by 2070 as a climate mitigation response at COP26 (Conference of the Parties).
Key Points:
i.The program intends to enable cities to decarbonize in a systematic and sustainable way that will reduce emissions.
ii.The WEF and NIUA will adapt the WEF’s City Sprint process and Toolbox of Solutions for decarbonization of 5-7 Indian cities across two years.
iii.As per the WEF’s Global Risks Report 2022, densely populated countries that are highly dependent on agriculture, such as India, are vulnerable to climate insecurity. Therefore, Decarbonization in cities can keep global warming well below 2°C.
What is the City Sprint process?
It is a series of multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder workshops involving business, government, and civil society leaders to enable decarbonization, mainly through clean electrification and circularity.
- The outcome of the workshops will create relevant policies and business models to reduce emissions, and job creation.
- The process will also enable cities to run pilot solutions and, based on findings, India will be able contribute 10 to 40 best practice case studies which will be integrated into the Toolbox of Solutions and showcased across the world.
It should be noted that the City Sprint process uses the Toolbox of Solutions which 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.
Recent Related News:
The WEF’s five-day online Davos Agenda summit 2022 was held from January 17-21, 2022. The summit was convened on the theme of The State of the World.
About National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA):
Director– Hitesh Vaidya
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi
About World Economic Forum (WEF):
Establishment – 1971
Founder and Executive Chairman– Klaus Schwab
Headquarters– Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland
