Velukar Mrunmayee Milind

Thesis/DRP/Capstone Project

City level assessment of the SDG towards climate action
The phenomenon of climate change has implications at various levels (UNFCCC, 2012). Cities are the centres of growth and development; and therefore, form an integral part in tackling climate change (Bulkeley, 2010). Since, the actions towards climate change provide outputs gradually over a period, it is a challenge to prioritize the same. To ensure sustainability in city planning and infrastructure, it is important to understand the unattended areas. This study attempts to align the ongoing projects in the city of Pune with respect to their relevance towards climate change. The main objective of the research is to identify indicators for assessment and the sectors to be focused to facilitate the decision-making process of the Municipal Corporation. These indicators were identified comparing three assessment frameworks used by the government of India and Pune city: the City Resilience framework, Ease of Living Index 2018, Global and National Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals against the Indicators of the SDG 13 – Climate Action to understand the minimum indicators to be included while assessing actions relevant to climate change at city level. The methodology further focused on identifying the priority sectors for the city through the analysis of these assessment frameworks, relevant case studies, current focus sectors for the city & stakeholder’s perception survey. These sectors were then mapped with the comprehensive list of indicators to understand which sector has ongoing projects complying with the same. The results thus classified Transportation, Water & Sanitation, Solid Waste Management, Public Health, Energy, Green spaces and Development Planning as priority infrastructure sectors of the city which constituted approximately 77 ongoing projects. The projects were analysed based on the scale, type of implementation process and allocation of budget. These projects were then mapped to understand whether they cater to increased temperature and precipitation (Adaptation) or to the Green House Gas emissions (Mitigation). The analysis identified Transportation as a sector where, maximum mitigation projects are being undertaken. Thus, it was implied that the city of Pune has tried to initiate action in this regard as it is possible to empirically prove the increase and distribution of these emissions. Whereas there is a lack of quantifiable data support for proposing adaptation measures. The research concludes by identifying the sectors to be focused by the city for further projects to be climate resilient. Also, the consolidated assessment framework can thus be adopted by any city/ state in India to understand the alignment of their ongoing and upcoming projects towards Climate Action and therefore can focus on the unattended sectors efficiently.