Climate Centre For Cities At The National Institute Of Urban Affairs, Join The ‘Race To Resilience Campaign’ At COP28, Dubai

To foster sustainable development, withstand environmental, social and economic shocks, and build resilience in cities across India

9 December 2023, Dubai – The Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube) at the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) joined the Race to Resilience Campaign, an initiative led by the UN Climate Change High Level Champions for COP27 and COP 28 to mainstream the resilience in cities across India. With India’s urban population projected to reach 600 million by 2030, this strategic partnership underscores the commitment to address unique challenges posed by climate change and urbanization in the global south. This will foster sustainable development, build resilience and enable cities to withstand environmental, social and economic shocks.

On the announcement of the partnership, Dr.DebolinaKundu, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs emphasized the critical role of urbanization in achieving India’s Nationally Determined Contributions and building resilient cities to climate change impacts. She stated, “Urban India is growing rapidly and it is estimated that 40% of the India’s population will be residing in the urban areas by 2030. It is crucial, that urban growth is aligned towards reducing GHG emissions intensity and strengthening capacities of the cities to ‘bounce back better’ from climate related extreme events and disaster risks.”

C-Cube leading the Resilience building for Urban India

Established in June 2020, the C-Cube focuses on ‘Building Climate Actions in Cities’. Following two objectives form the approach in achieving the vision:

Climate variability and climate change considerations are included in all urban projects (infrastructure) and not implemented as separate initiatives.
Cities mainstream climate actions through improved collaborations with stakeholders, improved planning, infrastructure resilience and monitoring impacts.

Some of the notable achievements of the Centre in achieving the vision include:

Supported the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, in the development and implementation of ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF), a first-of-its-kind city assessment framework on climate relevant parameters for Indian cities. CSCAF 1.0 impacted 140 million people in 126 cities, which participated in 2020-21, assessing their development in 28 indicators across 5 thematic areas – Urban Planning, Green Cover and Biodiversity; Energy and Green Buildings; Mobility and Air Quality; Water Management and Waste Management. Currently the third round of the assessment is in progress as part of the Urban Outcomes Framework where 220+ cities have participated.
Established theClimate Alliance Secretariat within the centre with more than 75 partner organizations,25 of which extended support to 121 cities in implementing CSCAF 2.0. Additionally, 75 members are part of the thematic groups of CSCAF, providing support for technical review.
Created ‘Climate Practitioners India Network’, engaging1000+ Climate Practitioners from 100+ cities.
Designed, developed and delivered 26 training modules aligned to the themes of CSCAF. In the phase one, 3500+ city officials across 40+ cities were trained.
Initiated the Leaders in Climate Change Management Program (LCCM), an end-to-end training programme (including training,e project development and handholding support for project implementation) for creating 5000 climate leaders in cities.
Created the Climate Data Observatory that showcases four dashboards with 98 data points across 126 cities.
Led the National Campaign on Climate Change Awareness as part of AzadikaAmritMahotsav, which received 4 million impressions on social media. Additionally, 113 events were conducted across 100+ cities.
Conducted the National Photography Competition on Climate, which received 1200+ entries.
Designed and Developed 60 Podcasts and 45 Blogs.
Developed three tools:
- ClimateSmartCities Self-Assessment tool, designed to support In4dian cities in understanding emissions and to help them integrate and prioritise climate-sensitive action into city planning. The tool is based on the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC).
- Screening tool to assess potential for rooftop solar in buildings.
- Tool to calculate water demand in cities.
Developed a Compendium of Good Practices for Building Flood Resilience.
Developed a Compendium of 75 Good Practices for Climate Action, contributed by the partners of the alliance.

C-Cube continue to spearhead important programmes, instruments, and projects that strengthen India’s ability to withstand the effects of climate change.