National Conference on 'Enabling Policy Frameworks for Climate Resilient Cities'

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) had organized a National Conference on 'Enabling Policy Frameworks for Climate Resilient Cities' on July 8, 2016 at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The conference marked the completion of TERI's study on 'State level policy research and engagement' which was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The objective of the study was to prepare policy road maps for mainstreaming urban climate change resilience within the urban development policy and regulatory framework in the states of Goa and Uttarakhand. This national conference was organized with an objective of disseminating the knowledge and experience generated from the study and to facilitate a discussion on addressing climate change concerns in public policy and planning at multi levels of governance for building urban climate resilience. The inaugural address was delivered by Shri R R Rashmi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change, Government of India He highlighted that city systems are complex, and there is now a need to focus on city-based emissions instead of sectoral emissions. The conference brought forward the specific experiences of Uttarakhand and Goa from this study, along with replication insights for other coastal and hilly regions. A dialogue exploring the integration of climate change resilience in the Smart cities discourse in India was also facilitated.

The conference was attended by the representatives of the state urban development departments, urban local bodies, NGOs, academia and development organizations. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India was represented by Dr K V Pratap, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Urban Development in the valedictory session of the conference.

As part of the project, an Infographic and a short animation clip was also prepared on the subject. These were released at the conference and can be accessed here.