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A Pathway for Low Carbon Climate Resilient City
Indian cities would contribute more than 70% to the GDP of the country by 2030, according to Mckinsey Global Institute. Anthropocene greed with respect to unsustainable consumption and production pattern is never ending which is giving rise to negative externalities on the environment. India’s commercial energy sector stimulates three folds higher energy demand than rural areas as urban space is the major contributor of carbon dioxide emission and, therefore, responsible for climate change apart. A report by Carbon Brief stated that the year 2021 was the warmest in the months of June and July accompanied with heat waves and rainfall events which in turn resulted into increased levels of pollutants and allergens. One of the major drivers of climate change is the transport sector which creates health issues like respiratory infections, allergies, and asthma (Orimoloye et al., 2019). A low carbon resilience framework is, therefore, the need of the hour for a city which can offer a healthy and sustainable life.
The framework covers the understanding of the local climate conditions of the geographical area and evaluating vulnerability and climate change impacts in order to identify adaptation and mitigation practices as shown in Figure 1 (Hussain and Alpana, 2020).
Some of the cities have already started adopting good practices to curb the carbon emission. Delhi, the third most polluted city in the world with an AQI of 177ppm (CPCB Report, 2021), has initiated some correction measures to reduce the carbon emission. During the past three years, during critical months, it has hired more than 1,000 CNG buses, and banned the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items to reduce vehicular pollution.
On the other hand, at the global scale, Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, the transport sector accounts for nearly half of the emissions. It initiated a rapid transit system that encourages high ridership with more than 40% reduction in air emissions and scrapping of more than 2,000 old buses. Singapore’s Electronic road pricing sets rates for drivers to occupy roads based on time and location which reduces congestion and traffic in the restricted zone, as shown in Figure 2(a) and Figure 2(b), respectively. (Courtesy ‘Ten Cities Tackling Climate Change’)
Therefore, an effective implementation of measures requires a proper institutional framework and good governance that needs to be incorporated in the city development plans. Participation, rule of law, transparency, responsivity, alignment, equity, efficiency, accountability, and strategic vision are the factors of good governance. So, a Climate resilient city development plan has been proposed in the manner shown in Figure 3 (Hussain and Alpana, 2020).
This framework shows that a convergence is needed between urban local bodies and national authorities. Certain indicators have been established for mitigation and adaptation strategies covering clean technologies (electric vehicles and CNG vehicles), city emission reduction binding limits, efficient resource management (waste water treatment, surface harvesting and mulching and reforestation) and resilient infrastructure. (In Bangladesh, a climate smart house has been built that is resilient to cyclone and energy- and water-efficient).
There are several established models for monitoring urban emissions, viz., the SIM-Air Model (simple interactive models for improved air quality) which is used to estimate emissions and pollution impacts for a given scenario. Smart CART is used for calculating carbon emission alongside a road corridor. Vulnerability assessment can be done by taking into account the driving factors like loss of green space, population growth, and concretisation with rising infrastructure demand. GEF funds are available to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet the objectives of emission reductions which will green employment opportunities for working towards restoring environment.
To conclude, for building sustainable cities in developing nations like India, adequate decentralised urban planning is needed and the use of geospatial technologies (GIS) can also be useful in mapping spatio-temporal distribution patterns of climate change.
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References:
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Orimoloye, I. R., Mazinyo, S. P., Kalumba, A. M., Ekundayo, O. Y., and Nel, W. (2019). Implications of climate variability and change on urban and human health: a review. Cities 91, 213–223. doi: 10.1016/j.cities.2019.01.009.
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Hussain, A., and Gupta, A.(2020).Planning for low carbon smart cities in India. Smart Cities—Opportunities and Challenges, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 58, Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2545-2_18.
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Ten Cities Tackling Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/10-cities-tackling-climate-change/178136/.
Alpana Gupta
agupta2@devalt.org
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