Urban-Act: Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon & Resilient Cities

January-March | 2025
Regional

Mitigation of Climate Change

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The Urban-Act project began 2025 with the launch of two key publications by Hon’ble Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, focusing on mainstreaming urban climate actions and showcasing 50+ vibrant public spaces from India’s Smart Cities Mission. On February 5, a two-month Sustainable Waste Management program was launched in Himachal Pradesh, along with a four-party MoU for the Urban-Act project implementation. GIZ is supporting urban planning, governance, and capacity building across 68 ULBs, including training under the “Swacch Sehsr–Samriddh Sehar” initiative. Additionally, a policy dialogue in Chennai on February 25 explored integrating climate resilience into urban planning frameworks.

Project Updates

The project Urban-Act had a very good start of year 2025. In January itself 2 important publication was launched by Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Hon'ble Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India. These publications mark a significant step towards fostering sustainable and climate-resilient urban development in India, reinforcing the commitment to innovative and inclusive urban planning.

The two publications are:

1. Discussion Paper: Pathways for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Actions

This discussion paper summarizes urban climate change-related initiatives in the country and provides strategic recommendations with action plan for mainstreaming climate actions in Urban India. This paper also highlights key strategies for the effective integration and implementation of urban climate actions.

2. Compendium: Vibrant Public Spaces – 50+ Water & Parkscapes from India’s Smart Cities Mission

This compendium presents a collection of case studies showcasing successful implementations under the Smart Cities Mission, a flagship initiative of the Government of India aimed at enhancing urban resilience. It advocates for a renewed perspective on public spaces—envisioning them as accessible, inclusive, and integral to urban life. The compendium captures unique riverfronts, lakefronts, parks, plaza and vending markets that balance environmental needs with the recreation needs of citizens. Learnings from the successes and limitations of these projects will help other cities as they develop public spaces. 

Launch Two-Month Program - Sustainable Waste Management

On February 5, 2025, in Shimla, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) joined hands with the Urban Development Department (UDD) of Himachal Pradesh for the launch of a two-month program dedicated to Sustainable Waste Management across the state. The program aims to address critical challenges related to waste management, including the management of Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which has become an urgent issue in the wake of rapid urbanization.

The event also marked the signing of a four-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between GIZ, UDD, Smart City Shimla Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), and the Municipal Corporation Shimla for the implementation of the Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low Carbon & Resilient Cities (Urban Act) project. Under this agreement, GIZ will provide vital technical support in areas such as urban planning, capacity building, governance for urban action, and the development of urban projects. The collaboration is expected to continue until 2027, ensuring a sustainable framework for waste management and climate action in Shimla and beyond.

The program launch was graced by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, along with the Urban Development Minister, Mayors, and dignitaries from around 65 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) across the state.

As part of the MoU the project provided training support to 68nos of ULBs in Himachal Pradesh (HP) on solid waste management aligned with Swachh Bharat Mission of the Government of India. For this the project joined hands with GIZ’s another project ‘Cities Combatting Plastic entering Marine Environment’ (CCPME) to impart 10 district level trainings under the ambit of “Swacch Sehsr- Samriddh Sehar” initiative of HP Government. The ULB functionaries were informed on latest development in the field of solid waste management including SWM Rules, source segregation, collection and processing technologies included innovative IEC methods.

A policy dialogue on mainstreaming climate action in Chennai was held on 25 February, 2025, bringing stakeholders together to explore integrating climate resilience and low-carbon development into urban planning frameworks.