Blogs

Every year, ministers and officials from almost all countries in the world meet to discuss how to tackle the problem of climate change. This annual gathering is known as the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At the 2015 COP in Paris, countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared with the average temperature that prevailed before the Industrial Revolution started escalating the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas have become the backbone of the industrial economy, which is why...

Under the Paris Agreement, by 2030, India has committed to reducing the emissions intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33-35 percent as compared to 2005 levels. Since economic activity is concentrated in urban areas, cities need to take the lead in achieving this target. Therefore, cities need to pursue development in a clean, green, inclusive, equitable and...

This blog post originally appeared in TheCityFix.

In too many cities today we see a stark dichotomy. On one side we have enclaves for the rich and powerful, full of luxuries and amenities, and access to the bounties of a globalized world. On the other, there are the disempowered and poor, slumdwellers, and recent migrants, who lack even the most basic services.

But we are also seeing new social and political movements to press back against these trends...

India is urbanising at a rapid pace and there is extensive and increasing demand for services like housing, water, sanitation, energy, and mobility. Recent reports on the state of water and energy...

India’s buildings are silent power guzzlers. According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Ministry of Statistics, Planning and Implementation (MOSPI), residential and commercial buildings consume 32 percent of the country’s total electricity. As our cities grow, building energy demand is poised to balloon. According to the Global Buildings Performance Network (2013), by 2030, India would have an...

The mobility sector in India is undergoing a digital transformation. Public bus agencies, usually referred to as State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs), are investing millions in setting up Intelligent Transport Systems to improve the efficiency of bus systems. At the same time, mobility entrepreneurs backed by heavy investments, are developing innovative...

In August, 16 people died as a result of landslides in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, India. In addition, the region saw significant destruction of property, including homes, infrastructure, coffee plantations, and other farms.

In the aftermath of such significant direct and indirect losses, a critical introspection of the cause of such massive disaster is important. It is more prudent to manage the disaster risks and vulnerabilities than to manage disasters. It is also important to examine the relationship between disasters, natural resources, and development. Are we taking for...

Protecting and improving India’s forests and extending tree cover outside forests in an important approach to achieving India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Official estimates suggest that in order for this to happen, it is imperative not only to protect and improve existing forest cover, but to also extend tree cover in close to 30 million hectares. In this podcast, Rohini Chaturvedi, Former Director of WRI's Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration work in India, speaks to...

Technology and innovation in urban mobility is moving forward rapidly. However, city streets are a finite and scarce resource. In the lead up to NITI Aayog’s MOVE: Global Mobility Summit, Robin Chase, co-founder and former CEO of ZipCar, speaks about how technology-driven innovation in urban mobility has come a long way from when she first set up ZipCar almost two decades ago, and what cities need to do today to incentivise its people to commute more sustainably.

Robin also highlights...

As India prepared to commemorate its 72nd Independence Day, the southern state of Kerala saw little reason to celebrate. The monsoon rainfall this year was heavier than normal and had reached alarming levels. On an average, districts received 30 percent excess rainfall, with some districts recording between 70 to 90 percent excess.

In agricultural India, an abundant monsoon is a blessing. However, successive spells of heavy and excess rainfall...