Experts Decode World Bank Report

The report outlines a 10-Point Climate Action Plan or a blueprint that cities can adopt to strengthen resilience. The recommendations include:

• Regularly assessing climate risks

• Creating inclusive early warning systems

• Climate-smart urban planning

• Reducing risks from floods and heat

• Protecting vulnerable communities

• Engaging the private sector

• Planning compact, green cities

• Improving waste and water services

• Building green transport systems

• Promoting energy-efficient homes

While this serves as a solid starting point for newly developing urban centres, experts say, most major Indian cities already have climate action plans in place. However, it’s implementation that remains a significant challenge.

“None of the climate action plans that have been framed are even close to being fully implemented,” says Mohanty. “In some areas and sectors, implementation has begun and is showing promising results, but city-wide adoption is still lacking.”

For instance, Assam is taking steps to improve flood resilience, and Mumbai is working on a multi-hazard risk atlas to strengthen its emergency response, but, Mohanty notes these efforts are still in early stages and moving too slowly, especially when compared to the speed and scale of climate risks on the ground.

One of the major bottlenecks, he points out, is fragmented governance.

“What’s happening is very disjointed,” Mohanty explains.

“It’s not that we aren’t making any investments. We’re already doing quite a lot in terms of climate resilience,” he says. “But now, it’s high time we start translating that empirical evidence into concrete, scalable action.”

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