Panaji, Pune and Rajkot, three Indian cities of the BJP-ruled States, have been selected as national finalists in the 2017-2018 edition of World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) One Planet City Challenge (OPCC). These are amongst the 40 finalists out of the 118 cities across 23 countries that participated in the global challenge this year.
The One Planet City Challenge, previously known as the Earth Hour City Challenge, invites cities in participating countries to report ambitious and innovative climate actions and plans in different sectors including energy, transport, housing and waste, on the international carbon Climate Registry platform.
Panaji, Pune and Rajkot are also among the 99 cities under the Government's Smart City Mission. A statement from the WWF said that Pune is working to address climate-related challenges by enhancing its sustainable mobility landscape, promoting energy efficiency measures, increasing green cover, and improving waste management infrastructure.
One of the significant actions undertaken by the city include reducing emissions by developing a multi-modal, integrated mobility plan to improve public transport and traffic management as well as emphasize cycling, walking and non-motorized transportation. The city has also established a dedicated Energy Saving Cell to focus on resource conservation measures, according to a statement here by WWF.
Similarly, Panaji is taking strong action to improve waste management and aims to be a landfill-free city. It is also working on enhancing the renewable energy capacity, and improving the sustainable mobility landscape by implementing an "Intelligent Transportation System" to improve traffic management, accessibility to public transportation and pedestrian mobility.
Rajkot has taken comprehensive actions to improve uptake of renewable energy, provide better waste management practices and expand the city's sustainable mobility infrastructure including public transportation. Rajkot has also demonstrated promising commitment for reducing emissions, along with multiple initiatives for increasing energy security, said the statement.
Dr TS Panwar, Director, Climate Change and Energy Programme, WWF India said, "Given the increasing urbanization in India, cities have a significant role in providing solutions for mitigating carbon emissions as well as preparing for climate resilient development.
"Platforms such as OPCC bring together multiple stakeholders as well as common citizens to inspire and support cities to become climate smart and sustainable solution hotspots in areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable transport and overall low carbon development."