Abstract
Humanity is slowly waking up to the challenges posed by climate change. The world has already warmed by 1.0°C since pre-industrial levels, and it continues unabated. Although climate change impacts everyone, its worst impacts are born by the poor and marginalised who are surviving in multidimensional poverty and facing acute deprivation. Climate change not only exacerbates their existing inequalities, but it leads to disproportionate sharing of climate change risks, necessitating a move beyond mere climate change mitigation towards climate change adaptation and recognition that the involvement of all the government levels, especially the local governments, has become a sine qua non for climate change adaptation to work because the impacts of climate change are manifestly local.
This article addresses the elephant in the room and argues that Indian urban local governments must inhabit a definitive role in the Indian multilateral climate change governance framework. It argues that despite the important role played by urban local governments in combating climate change through adaptation strategies, the multi-level governance framework is completely skewed in favour of the dominant and decisive role played by national governments.
Keywords
Climate change has emerged as the most significant and vexing challenge of our time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Special Report, Global warming of 1.5°C (IPCC Special Report), has cautioned us that the world has already warmed by 1.0°C since pre-industrial levels, and at its current warming rate of 0.2°C per decade, it will reach the temperature of 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052. 1 That report responds to the invitation of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which called on the IPCC “to provide a Special Report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways contained in the Decision of the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to adopt the Paris Agreement” and answers the question posed regarding the impact of the 2°C goal and the need to revise it to 1.5°C.
Leading scientists and climate change experts have issued a call to take immediate action, as the earth has reached a state of planetary emergency. 2 In a recent study, scientists recorded that our planet is approaching some key tipping points such as the melting of the Amundsen Sea Embayment – a glacial system in West Antarctica. The grounding line of the glacier, where ice, ocean and bedrock meet, is facing irreversible withdrawal. This could destabilise the rest of the West Antarctica ice sheet like toppling dominoes, and lead to a three-metre sea-level rise. 3 As per the study, the intervention time to prevent these tipping points has already shrunk to zero. 4
The IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere 5 has noted that our oceans have continued to warm unabated since the 1970s and they have absorbed more than 90 percent of the excess heat in the climate system. This has caused surface acidification, severely affecting warm-water coral reefs. 6 Ocean acidification has brought about shifts in the geographic range and seasonal activities of the various groups of marine species, resulting in changes in species composition and the production of marine ecosystems, from the equator to the poles. 7 Climate change has already affected food security because of warming, changing precipitation patterns, and the greater frequency of extreme weather events. 8 Africa is experiencing lower animal growth rates and lower productivity in its pastoral systems. 9
Thus, the world has very limited time to take effective action. 10 Since climate change is perceived as a global problem, little attention seems to be paid to locally driven adaptation. 11 Local government bodies have emerged as critical actors in the struggle to deal with climate change. 12 The 21st session, 2015, of the Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC noted how the climate change issue has evolved over time. International organisations such as C40 and Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) are in a continuous endeavour to establish a global network of cities committed to building a low-carbon and sustainable future. Municipal authorities and city governments are making their presence felt and are playing a central role in the ever-changing climate-change negotiation dynamics. 13
Despite the important role played by urban local bodies (ULBs) in combating climate change through adaptation strategies – such as livelihood creation, affordable housing schemes for marginalised communities, ecosystem protection and building climate-resilient infrastructure – they still remain hamstrung by a lack of financial resources and almost all are subservient to their national and state governments. In the Indian context, the multi-level governance framework is completely skewed in favour of the dominant and decisive role played by the national government. 14 Indian ULBs have no decentralised power despite the mandate of the 74th amendment of the Indian Constitution.
In this article, we address the elephant in the room and argue that Indian urban local governments must inhabit a definitive role in the Indian multilateral climate-change governance framework. In the next section, we argue that Indian cities must be given a central voice in the politics of climate change and delineate three important reasons for this. Then, in the following section, we briefly provide an overview of the Indian multi-level governance model and emphasise the numerous afflictions that local governments face in India’s current multilateral governance framework. Finally, we suggest a possible framework that cities can adopt to develop a municipal-level adaptation plan.
Why Are Local Governments India’s Most Important Climate-change Stakeholders?
Extreme Weather Conditions are Severely Impacting Indian Cities
The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC highlighted that many global risks of climate change are concentrated in urban areas. 15 Indian cities such as Kanpur, Kolkata and Chennai are already suffering from extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves caused by climatic variations. 16 Cities situated along the extensive coastline or major rivers are under a constant threat of flooding due to sea-level rise. 17 For example, in 2018, the Indian state of Kerala experienced its worst flood in 94 years. Studies have identified two trends caused by climate change: the weakening of the Indian monsoon and the moistening of the tropical troposphere – the major factor behind the Kerala floods. 18
Mumbai is vulnerable to various climate-change-induced hazards such as tropical cyclone risks, heavy precipitation and sea-level rise. 19 Every year, the city suffers huge economic losses due to the socio-economic disorientation caused by climate-change-induced floods. 20 Similarly, Kolkata City region suffers regular flooding from increased precipitation caused by extreme storm surges. 21 Certain cities such as Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh also experience regular floods during the monsoon season. Such floods affect more than one million people, most of whom are poor and marginalised. 22
The IPCC’s fifth assessment report has marked certain cities on the east coast of India as the regions of maximum climate vulnerability. 23 Extreme weather events are expected to disproportionately impact the people living in these cities. 24
The majority of India’s coastal cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Vishakhapatnam also rely heavily on their extensive built infrastructure: rail and road corridors, transport and communication networks, industrial zones and parks, and maritime and port facilities. Although critical for national economic growth, this infrastructure is not climate-resilient. Increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly from economic activities, make these coastal cities a regular prey to recurring cyclones, storm surges and floods. 25
The situation is worse for poor urban dwellers in cities that remain disproportionately vulnerable 26 to climate change. They suffer from poor-quality and insecure housing; inadequate infrastructure; and lack of healthcare and emergency facilities. 27 The IPCC Special Report notes that global warming at 1.5° Celsius will have a greater negative impact on poor people even when its impacts on the rest of the population are limited. 28 The ominous report has predicted that by the mid-to-late 21st century, climate change will act as a poverty multiplier by making poor people poorer. 29 This is problematic for many Indian cities because more than 25 percent of their population reside in slums, and their infrastructure and basic services are insufficient to match the unprecedented scale of urbanisation. 30
City-level Adaptation Actions to Help Limit Global Warming to 1.5°C
The IPCC has identified four systems that are critical to curbing global warming: energy; infrastructure; land and ecosystems; and industry. 31 Transformation and development of these systems in the coming decades will determine the outcome of efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. 32 It is necessary to achieve transformational changes in these systems but such changes cannot be achieved at just one level of government or organisation. 33 They must be a culmination of efforts by different stakeholders including international organisations, nations, cities and local regions. Cities are an important stakeholder because they can influence energy systems through urban planning and urban transition. 34 The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (2014) noted that “cities are composed of complex inter-dependent systems that can be leveraged to support climate change adaptation via effective city governments supported by cooperative multi-level governance. This can enable synergies with infrastructure investment and maintenance, land use management, livelihood creation, and ecosystem services protection”. 35 Similarly, the IPCC Special Report has noted with high confidence that for curbing global warming at 1.5C, a transition is necessary in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industry systems. 36 Urbanisation is the substructure upon which such transitions must be made. In simpler words, any transitions in these four identified systems must be based upon urban expertise and a multilateral governance framework.
Cities are home to more than 50 percent of the world’s population. An estimated 70 million residents are further expected to migrate to urban areas worldwide every year for the next three decades. An inevitable outcome of this migration will be an extensive reconstruction of urban infrastructure and buildings. 37 Early policy intervention in cities is necessary to build important and cost-effective infrastructure, including buildings. 38 This will influence future emissions. 39 For example, achieving the targets of limiting global warming to 1.5°C will require that emissions from building stock in 2050 be reduced by 80–90 percent from present-day emissions. 40
Early policy interventions by Indian urban local governments could focus on constructing future buildings with thermal insulation and re-usable materials, and improving the design of non-structural building elements. The Malaysian government has introduced a Low Carbon City Framework programme in which it invites its local governments to identify low-carbon townships. 41 Indian urban local governments could also focus on reducing carbon-intensive transportation, replacing it with compact pedestrianised cities and towns, and municipal waste management. Project SUNYA carried out under the aegis of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability encourages city municipalities to adopt the “3Rs” of waste management, i.e., reduce, reuse and recycle. This project has been successfully implemented in the Indian cities of Shimla and Coimbatore. 42 The management and reduced production of wastes is an important parameter for achieving low-carbon cities. 43
Many industrial parks/clusters are connected to urban areas through a number of dependencies such as the provision of water, waste management and materials. Urban local governments can help industrial transitions by substituting high-carbon intensity products with renewable and recycled materials. 44
Addressing the Concerns of Vulnerable Groups
Climate change risks are not the same for everyone. 45 They always intersect with social, economic, political and environmental risks and rising levels of inequality. They have far greater negative impacts on poor people living in disadvantaged regions. 46
The Indian urban poor face a double whammy of climate change risks because these risks are not only catalysed by Indian urbanisation problems 47 but they also interact, as mentioned, with other socio-economic, political and environmental risks that are inherent in Indian society. For example, women in India bear a disproportionate burden of climate change due to the prevailing social inequalities and prescribed social and economic roles. 48
Prioritising Adaptation Over Mitigation
At the outset, adopting adaptation policies does not mean “giving up” on climate-change mitigation policies. In fact, adaptation must be co-adopted along with mitigation policies and, to the extent possible, integrated with mitigation efforts for maximum gain. 49 However, adaptation must be prioritised over mitigation if co-adoption is not possible because of two important reasons. First, while mitigation avoids or limits future climate change by reducing the accumulation of any more GHGs in the atmosphere, it does little to curb the effects of GHGs that have already been emitted and are present in the atmosphere. 50 This is problematic because while this will avert the long-term impacts of climate change, it will have little check on the emissions already caused in the past decades due to incessant consumption of fossil fuels. Since 1751, the world has emitted over 1.5 trillion tonnes of CO2 and almost all the warming can be attributed to these emissions. 51
Second, mitigation involves difficult policy choices involving technological advancements, carbon emission trading and an energy tax. It would also involve investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. GHG emissions will keep on rising, probably for a long time, before they eventually taper off. Difficult policy choices and technological advancements will not generate results immediately. 52
For these reasons, climate change will probably continue on an upward trajectory for several decades to come. Focusing too much on mitigation strategies would mean more misery and increase the vulnerability of the urban poor because mitigation strategies will not deal successfully with these already “locked-in” emissions. As a result, we need adaptation strategies that would include taking deliberate actions for reducing the adverse impacts of climate change. 53 The IPCC has defined adaptation as “adjustment in human natural systems, in response to actual or expected climate stimuli or their effects, that moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities”. 54 Further, it has described mitigation activities as follows:
activities that aim to reduce GHG emissions, directly or indirectly, by avoiding or capturing GHGs before they are emitted to the atmosphere or sequestering those already in the atmosphere by enhancing “sinks” such as forests. Such activities may entail, for example, changes to behavior patterns or technology development and diffusion. 55
As compared to mitigation, per the IPCC definition, adaptation directly encompasses measures that respond to both observed and anticipated climate change.
Towards Transformative Adaptation
Climate change adaptation also provides an excellent opportunity for social reform. Freire’s critique of adaptation will help us understand this. Freire argues that “without a critical awareness, adaptation is hostage to being limited to efforts ... to survive better with, rather than seek change to, the social and political structures that shape life chances”. 56 Similarly, people tend to adapt to poverty by suppressing their wants, hopes and aspirations rather than by attempting to change the structures that constrain their life chances. 57 If we read this critique in conjunction with the IPCC definition of climate change, we can understand affinities between adaptation, and social and political reform. In light of these critiques, we can understand climate-change adaptation as reflecting upon and enacting changes in the practices and institutions that generate risk. 58 This is called “transformative adaptation”, as compared to incremental adaptation, which seeks to maintain existing institutional systems, development pathways and practices. 59 Transformative adaptation will enable fundamental changes in our institutional arrangements, priorities and norms. 60
As discussed above, climate-change risks in India manifest themselves at different levels for the urban poor. Natural calamities such as floods are followed by vulnerabilities due to urbanisation. Ultimately, these risks reverberate through local social, political and environmental risks. As a result, the need for transformative adaptation in India is ever increasing. Promoting transformative adaptation in India’s cities will not only make our cities resilient to the risks posed by climate change but will also shield our urban poor from other vulnerabilities by promoting pro-poor and sustainable models of development, and addressing the root causes of poverty. It will enable us to achieve, in O’Brien’s powerful words, “changes to entrenched systems maintained and protected by powerful interests”. 61
Adaptation Will Address Needs of Local Development
Adaptation action will also address the immediate need for local development. 62 Indian climate change policy has always been a synergy between adaptation and mitigation, and their linkage with immediate and local development needs. 63 This linkage has always been present in Indian national climate politics in the usage of the word “co-benefits” enshrined in the National Action Plan on Climate Change. 64 Both our National Action Plan on Climate Change and 12th Five Year Plan include measures that promote economic development but also yield climate change benefits.
The IPCC 2014 climate change report has identified certain key factors which play a crucial role in determining the adaptive capacity of cities around the world. They are affordable and well-located housing, food security measures, the presence of risk-reducing infrastructure in the cities such as sanitation, drainage and all-weather roads and, most importantly, healthcare and emergency services. Another crucial factor is the presence of local governments possessing the institutional capacity for incremental and transformative adaptation, and having the ability to translate adaptation policies into the local regulatory framework. 65 Revi et al. have succinctly argued that cities which lack the risk-reducing infrastructure and services are ill equipped to act on adaptation. 66
Therefore, for an urban centre to have adaptive capacity ultimately depends on the ability of city governments to provide its inhabitants with minimum basic infrastructure such as proper sanitation and housing. As per the 12th schedule of India’s Constitution, planning for economic and social development, sanitation conservancy, public health and urban planning are all functions that belong to city governments. As a result, the outcome of adaptive strategies at the local level will in most cases be enhanced local development.
Why Local Level Matters for Adaptation
The benefits of adaptation are best realised at the local level: First, even though climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts are manifestly local. Global climate change risks such as increased precipitation and heatwaves interact with other geographic, economic, social and environmental factors and get translated into very localised occurrences affecting local livelihoods. 67 Second, both vulnerability and adaptive capacities to climate change are context-specific and they differ from region to region. They result from an interplay between many different local factors such as incomes, infrastructure, gender and political participation. These and other local factors determine the negative effects of climate change on the local population. 68 Third, assessing the adaptive policies and their efficacy is best judged at the local levels. Since the negative effects of climate change are shaped by different local intervening factors that create unique vulnerabilities for different regions, adaptive actions must respond to the anticipated or actual experience of climate change. 69
Overview of Current Indian Multi-Level Governance Model
Constitutional Framework of the Urban Local Bodies: The 74th Amendment
The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 was passed by the Parliament with effect from 1 June 1993. It added Part IX-A to the Constitution, consisting of Articles 243-P to 243-ZG. The amendment gave effect to Article 40 of the Constitution. Article 40 appears in Part IV relating to Directive Principles of State Policy, which enjoins the states to take proactive steps in organising village panchayats (self-governing administrative bodies in rural areas) and endowing them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government. 70 List II of the Seventh Schedule lists the matters upon which the states have exclusive power to make laws. To achieve the objectives of the 74th Amendment, List II was amended and a new entry – Entry no. 5 (Local Government) was added. 71 This enabled the state governments to pass appropriate laws concerning municipalities under Article 246 of the Constitution.
The 73rd Amendment may be distinguished from the 74th. The former deals with panchayats and the latter deals with ULBs (a term that comprises municipal councils, municipal corporations and Nagar Panchayats (small urban centres of 11,000–25,000 people, established in both smaller urban areas and larger urban areas and areas which are transitioning from rural to urban). 72 The major difference lies in the kind of functions that are constitutionally assigned to panchayats and municipalities. Panchayats are obligated to carry out land reforms and provide for health and sanitation, 73 while municipalities are required to perform functions such as town planning, building construction, economic/ social development planning and urban poverty alleviation. 74 Even though the functions of both include local development, the functions of municipalities align more closely with the adaptation capacities of the cities. In fact, Entry 8 of the 12th Schedule squarely deals with environmental concerns: “urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of ecological aspects”. No such provision regarding safeguarding the environment exists in the 11th Schedule. Therefore, legally, panchayats have no mandate to deal with climate change or even environmental degradation in general.
Insufficient Devolution of Funds and Lack of Financial Autonomy
The 74th Amendment does not strike a chord with many people because while it exhibits an intention to empower ULBs through fiscal and political decentralisation, it fails to make any provision regarding their revenue assignments. 75 The Constitution, while entrusting the ULBs with more functions, has failed to specifically spell out the sources from which they can raise the necessary revenue. 76 As a result, the onus of enacting laws and policies regarding the financing of ULBs falls on the state governments. Local governance is a state subject under List II (State List) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Even Article 243X of the Indian Constitution provides that the state legislature may, by law, authorise the municipalities to levy taxes and collect fines.
This is despite the 74th Amendment mandating the state governments to constitute a state finance commission (SFC) every five years to review and recommend steps for improving the financial health of the municipalities. 77 However, a lack of political will within state governments has reduced this compulsory provision to a mere titular requirement. For example, in all the major cities, there is a gap of at least one year between the date of constituting the SFC and the date of submitting its report to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. 78 For the cities in Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, there is a gap of two years between the date of constituting SFCs and the date of submitting their reports, 79 and for other cities even longer. An SFC was constituted in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and finally submitted its report to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in 2009. The Bihar SFC was established in December 2013 and its report reached the Ministry on December 2016. 80 In Haryana, the SFC constituted in April 2010 submitted its report in 2014. 81 For the cities of Haryana, Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Bihar, the state governments have failed even to table the “Action Taken Report” in the state legislature. 82
In India, the sources of revenue for the ULBs can be classified into three categories – (i) the ULB’s own sources of revenue such as taxes on property, entertainment, advertising and professions and trades, and charges including fees and fines; (ii) intergovernmental transfers; and (iii) external revenues such as borrowings. 83 These options, as well as the challenges arising out of the lack of clear political authority and capacity are discussed in the following sections.
Municipal Revenue
At present, property tax is the major tax in the municipal portfolio in India. 84 In 2017–2018, property tax made up about 60 percent of municipal tax revenue. 85 This is only a little more than the revenue in 2007–2008 which was 52 percent. 86 The revenue of the 37 largest municipalities in India declined sharply to 0.23 percent of GDP in 2017–18 from 0.33 percent in 2012–13. 87 The introduction of the Goods and Service Tax in 2017 and subsequent abolition of other indirect taxes such as “octroi” (a tax on all goods coming into cities from within and outside their own state), entry tax (a tax on all incoming goods from other states) and advertising tax caused a further decline in revenues. 88
The main challenge with property tax is the lack of standardised practices regarding assessment, collection and coverage of properties. The ULBs still rely on unscientific methods for assessing the tax. Lack of transparency and incomplete records raise further challenges. 89 Thus, despite the growth of India’s economy, the fiscal performance of the municipalities is held back by the states’ inability to regulate coverage, assessment, valuation and enforcement.
Taxes Other than Property Tax
Octroi, entertainment tax, advertising tax, professional tax and tax on animals were important sources of income for cities. When levied, octroi could generate revenues that were equivalent to property taxes. 90 For example, in Maharashtra, octroi was responsible for half of the revenues of the city. 91
After the abolition of octroi, ULBs were left with a few other taxing options, such as professional tax and entertainment tax. Professional taxes have raised a sizable amount of revenue for certain municipal corporations, for example, Rs 200 crore (2,000,000,000 rupees) annually for the Corporation of Chennai, Rs 100 crore for Hyderabad Municipality and Rs 90 crore for Surat Municipality; 92 but this tax can be collected by state governments as well. 93 Entertainment taxes have remained an erratic and insignificant source of revenue for municipal corporations. 94
Borrowing by Municipalities
The absence of a strong and fully developed bond market has always negatively affected the borrowing capability of the municipalities. 95 Where such a market is available, municipal bonds are issued by state and local governments in the form of debt obligations. The municipalities raise capital from the investors by issuing municipal bonds in the market and pay regular interest or principal at a pre-determined maturity date.
According to a report on Indian Urban Infrastructure and Services (2011), municipalities have the least financial autonomy and capacity to raise external capital. 96 Raising finance through bonds involves a hefty investment in the form of royalty fees, expenditure on middlemen, and management fees. This makes it a less viable option for most municipalities which are already in fiscal deficit. According to a study prepared by the Fifteenth Finance Commission, the municipal revenue (as a percentage of GDP) increased to 0.51 in 2015–16 from 0.48 in 2010–11. However, it then declined to 0.47 in 2016–17 and then 0.43 in 2017–18, the lowest in the preceding eight years. 97
A Lack of Political Autonomy
Different government actors are increasingly involving themselves in metropolitan regions. 98 Despite local planning being the exclusive responsibility of local governments, many local plans must be approved by the state governments in order to be passed. 99 Also, due to inadequate finances, elected local bodies have taken a back seat as state governments have started substituting city governments with their own parastatal bodies and diverting the municipal functions and funds to them. 100 Such parastatal bodies are undermining the authority of ULBs. 101 Regional planning at the metropolitan level such as town planning and development control plans ought to be the basic responsibility of city governments but such planning is now being done by state planning bodies.
A Need to Build Capacity
Even within the decentralised self-governance framework, city governments grapple with diminished institutional and human capacity that impede their capacity to perform the functions enumerated in the 12th Schedule. In 2015, the National Institute of Urban Affairs carried out a detailed study to assess the capacity-building needs of ULBs under the aegis of the Planning Commission (now the National Institution for Transforming India or NITI Aayog).
102
It found three specific capacity gaps across the ULBs: inadequate skills and capacity of the present personnel at all levels; limited availability of personnel with adequate skill sets to execute projects in a sustainable manner; no suitable institutional framework for supporting continuous skill upgrading such as hiring competent trainers, conducting training programmes and providing funds for such purposes.
103
The study also pointed out several other issues that were being faced by the ULBs across the country such as the problematic relationship between the ULBs and their states, the acute shortage of staff (technical and general) at all levels, the frequent transfer of officers, the lack of state-level resource institutions that would be better equipped to handle local needs, and the absence of a dedicated municipal cadre. 104
Revi observed that the biggest challenge facing Indian climate risk adaptation is the declining quality of urban governance and the weak institutional capacity to manage urbanisation, ensuring equitable and quality delivery of public services and regular access to housing markets. 105 He argues that “without these institutional changes, the structural vulnerability of large populations cannot be addressed, providing a weak foundation on which to build climate change adaptation”. 106
Capacity building at the local level is not limited to training and imparting new skills to employees but also includes organisational development. 107 Institutions need to be able to adapt to cope with the constantly changing environment, 108 and this involves making necessary regulatory changes like appropriate recruitment and personnel policies, designing structures which enable the growth of the organisation, and proper delegation of duties and responsibilities. 109
Case Studies
This section looks at examples of certain cities that have been successful in mainstreaming climate change agendas into their local development policies and practices.
Bergrivier Municipality, South Africa
Bergrivier Municipality is located within the West Coast District Municipality of South Africa’s Western Cape Province. It includes nine urban settlements and has a 40-km-long coastline. 110 Climate risks in Bergrivier include increased temperature, a fall in the levels of precipitation during the winter season and extreme heatwaves, all of which have significant impacts on the potato and rooibos (redbush) tea industries. The municipality faces several socio-economic challenges including lack of basic services, limited employment and limited municipal capacity. 111
In 2008, the Western Cape government decided to bring its Climate Change Strategy in line with the South African National Climate Change Response Policy (NCCRP). 112 The government reviewed the adaptive capacity of its different provinces to adopt the climate change agenda. It realised that its provinces lacked the capacity or budget to take on the additional portfolio of climate change. Therefore, the Western Cape government decided to embed climate change into the local and district-level functions of its provinces through using Integrated Development Plans (IDPs), Spatial Development Frameworks, and Disaster Management Plans. 113 Thereafter, in 2012, the Western Cape government approached Bergrivier Municipality to develop an adaptation plan. 114
A draft adaptation plan was prepared and finalised in 2013. Meanwhile, the government also set itself to adopt an IDP along with the adaptation plan. The preparation of the adaptation plan and the adoption of the IDP were strategically timed to ensure that the adaptation plan was ready a month before the IDP review which allowed the adaptation plan to be successfully included in the IDP. 115
The Bergrivier Climate Adaptation Plan (2014) focuses on five key areas – embedding climate change governance into municipal governance, development of climate-resilient low-cost housing, conservation of natural resources, stormwater management and agriculture. 116 At the national level, this Climate Adaptation Plan aligns with the NCCRP and Western Cape Climate Change Strategy. This has put climate change on the government portfolio by incorporating it into government activities. At the municipal level, the Adaptation Plan feeds directly into the IDP. This integration provides the basis for an overall development and regulatory framework.
Denmark
Denmark is the most populous Nordic country and the second country after Finland to develop an adaptation strategy. 117 The country is highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and it faces several climate change hazards such as warm weather, rising sea levels, more heat waves and heavy precipitation. 118
In Denmark, the climate change policy is overseen by the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Building (MCEB). Although the MCEB is primarily focused on mitigation, it is also undertaking adaptation efforts across different sectors and relevant government agencies. 119 Denmark has recognised the importance of local-level adaptation and is actively supporting its municipalities in developing action plans.
In its 2008 strategy for adapting to climate change, it made climate adaptation a focus for local governments. 120 The strategy provided local governments with a range of options that they could pursue in preparing for climate change in the future. 121 For example, it urged local governments to harmonise their road regulations and rail standards in accordance with expected climatic changes, and develop road drainage systems better able to cope with increased precipitation. 122 It also provided for inclusion of climate change into planning and development so that public authorities, citizens and businesses could decide when climate change must be taken into account. It included a description of those sectors that would be most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, 123 such as coastal management, water supply, energy supply, building and construction.
In 2012, the Ministry of Environment constituted a Climate Change Adaptation Squad to enable all the municipalities to have adaptation action plans by the end of 2013. 124 Copenhagen, the capital and the largest city in Denmark, is actively geared towards “incorporating adaptation into all the aspects of the city’s development, with the idea that adaptation and the development of an attractive and green major city are two sides of the same coin”. 125
Australia
Australia is prone to extreme weather events such as bush fires, heatwaves, increasing ocean temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and sea-level rise. 126 Its three largest cities – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – contain 49 percent of the country’s total population and are located along the coast. Adaptation actions in these three cities are of greatest concern. Out of the three, Melbourne has emerged as the leader in climate change adaptation. 127 Since 2007, the city has been regularly conducting comprehensive assessments of future risks posed by climate change. It is actively promoting its local governments which are, according to its latest Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Refresh 2017, “at the heart of adaptation action”. 128 The city has developed a best practice adaptation model for its local governments in consultation with the Victorian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Research. 129 In Sydney, the municipal authorities are responsible for climate change adaptation in both the city and surrounding areas. The focus is on low-carbon, water-sensitive, climate-resilient, zero-waste, green and cool measures as part of its “Environmental Action 2016–2021: Strategy and Action Plan”. 130
A Possible Framework for Adapting to Climate Change in Indian Cities
India has several national policies and plans which include adaptation as a main component. For example, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is the Indian policy instrument to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It was released on 30 June 2008 and contains eight broad objectives; 131 however, its primary focus is promoting development and achieving a high economic growth rate. 132 The eight missions are just a means to an end for achieving development and growth by following a low-carbon energy path. 133 NAPCC is a policy instrument and it lacks any detailed strategy for achieving the missions. 134 None of its eight missions directly provide for climate change adaptation; they only focus on development objectives that co-address climate change as well. The National Mission on Sustainable Habitat addresses adaptation and mitigation interventions as a critical area of engagement for Indian cities. 135
Another flagship scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2005. Its aim was to fast-track planned development of some identified cities and encourage reforms in the urban infrastructure 136 but, in its current phase, it fails to address climate change adaptation, risk mitigation or vulnerability assessment for urban areas. 137
The following framework could guide the steps in the development of a municipal-level adaptation strategy and is adopted from a UNFCCC strategy comprised of four steps: assessment of climate change impacts and vulnerability; planning for adaptation; implementing targeted adaptation actions; and monitoring and evaluating adaptation interventions. 138
The first step involves determining whether and to what extent climate change will have an impact. This assessment is done for natural systems (water supplies, agriculture productivity) as well as different aspects of human society (social wellbeing, economic activities). 139 If it is concluded that there are significant risks posed by climate change and that adaptation is required to manage those risks, then further assessments are carried out to inform the subsequent adaptation process. For example, a detailed vulnerability analysis was done in Surat, Indore, Guwahati and Gorakhpur as a part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network climate resilience strategy programme. 140
The next step is to identify and evaluate the different possible adaptation activities and then choose the best option from the available alternatives. This avoids duplication of activities and ensures sufficient integration of adaptation activities into government policies. While planning for adaptation, the planners must engage in “community-based adaptation”, which allows local participation in framing adaptation planning and activities. 141 All efforts should be made to involve different stakeholders as this will help to identify vulnerable sectors, and existing and potential adaptation initiatives.
After assessment and planning, the next stage is the implementation of adaptation actions. This can be effectively done by mainstreaming adaptation activities into development programmes at the district and panchayat level. 142 There is no single best method for implementation.
The last step is to monitor and assess the adaptation action for its ability to decrease vulnerability to climate risks for different communities and different natural resources. Monitoring is necessary to record the progress made in implementing the specific adaptation measures in relation to its objectives. Monitoring should be done during the implementation stage and then during the lifetime of the adaptation action and in some cases beyond. 143 Information and knowledge gained through monitoring are used to further improve the adaptation efforts.
Conclusion
The absence of an understanding regarding the significance of locally driven climate adaptation in all the three tiers of the Indian government is startling. Despite a proliferation of studies highlighting the benefits of locally driven adaptation, city governments have been slow to form adaptation strategies, and the state and national governments have been slow to provide supportive institutions. A lack of political will on the part of Indian governments towards fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities has kept India’s city governments in an institutional void. Climate change is real. It is only a matter of time before it harmfully impacts our cities and our lives.
Footnotes
Lenton, T. et al. 2019. “Climate tipping points – too risky to bet against”. Nature 575: 592–595, at 595.
Ibid., at 592.
Ibid., at 595.
Ibid., at 9.
Ibid., at 12.
Ibid.
Van Staden, M. and Musco, F. (Eds) 2010. Local Governments and Climate Change: Sustainable Energy Planning and Implementation in Small and Medium Sized Communities, at 2. Springer.
Sharma, D. and Tomar, S. 2010. “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation in Indian Cities”. Environment and Urbanization 22: 451–465, at 451.
Bulkeley, H. 2015. “Can cities realize their climate change potential? Reflections on COP 21 Paris and Beyond”. Local Environment 20(11): 1405–1409, at 1405.
Jorgensen, K. et al. 2015. “Multi-level climate change governance in India: the role of the states in climate action planning and renewable energies”. Journal of Integrative Environmental Science 12(4): 267–283, at 267–268.
IPCC, supra, note 12, at 548.
UNISDR. 2012. Making Cities Resilient Report 2012: My city is getting ready! Available at https://www.unisdr.org/files/28240_rcreport.pdf; Shaw, R. et al. 2010. “India City Profile: Climate and Disaster Resilience. Consultation Report”, at 30–32. Available at 
.
Beermann, J. et al. 2016. “Climate Action in Indian Cities: An emerging new research area”. Journal of Integrated Environmental Sciences 13(1): 55–66, at 58.
Hunt, K.M.R. and Menon, A. 2020. “The 2018 Kerala floods: a climate change perspective”. Climate Dynamics 54: 2433–2446, at 2444.
Dhiman, R., VishnuRadhan, R., Eldho, T.I. and Inamdar, A. 2019. “Flood risk and adaptation in Indian coastal cities: Recent scenarios”. Applied Water Science 9(1): at 5.
Ibid., at 4.
Ibid., at 5.
Ibid., at 11.
Supra, note 1, at 9.
Supra, note 12, at 547.
Supra, note 1, at 244.
Ibid.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. 2015. “A Statistical Compendium”, at 2.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 14.
Ibid., at 14–16.
Supra, note 12, at 538.
Supra, note 1, Summary for policy makers, at 15.
Supra, note 31, at 15–16.
Ibid., at 16–17.
Ibid., at 16.
Ibid., at 16 and 21.
Sahni, S. and Singh, R. 2014. “Planning for Low Carbon Cities in India. Environment and Urbanization ASIA 5(1): 17–34, at 26.
Supra, note 41, at 24.
Supra, note 31, at 17.
See, for instance, Agrawal, A. 2010. “Local Institutions and Adaptation to Climate Change”. In: Mearns, R. and Norton, A. (Eds) Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Equity and Vulnerability in a Warming World. Washington DC: World Bank; and Olsson, L. et al. 2014. “Livelihoods and poverty”, at 796–797. In: IPCC, supra, note 12.
Barbier, E. and Hochard, J. 2018. “The Impacts of Climate Change on the Poor in Disadvantaged Regions”. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 12: 26–47.
Revi, A. 2008. “Climate change risk: an adaptation and mitigation agenda for Indian cities”. Environment & Urbanization 20(1): 207–229, at 207–208.
Rao, N. et al. 2019. “A qualitative comparative analysis of women’s agency and adaptive capacity in climate change hotspots in Asia and Africa”. Nature Climate Change 9: 964–971, at 964.
Grafakos, S. et al. 2018. “Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation”, at 102. In: Rosenzweig, C. et al. (Eds) Climate Change and Cities: Second Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network. Cambridge University Press.
Supra, note 50, at 48.
Ibid., at 48 and 50–51.
Ibid., quoted at 48.
Ibid.
See Pelling, M. 2011. Adaptation to Climate Change: From Resilience to Transformation, at 20. London: Routledge.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 21.
Revi, A. et al. 2014. “Towards transformative adaptation in cities: the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment”. Environment and Urbanization 26: 11–28, at 27.
Bahadur, A. and Tanner, T. 2014. “Transformational resilience thinking: putting people, power and politics at the heart of urban climate resilience”. Environment and Urbanization 26: 200–214, at 208.
Ibid., at 208.
Khosla, R. and Bhardwaj, A. 2019. “Urbanization in the time of climate change: Examining the response of Indian cities”. WIREs Climate Change 10:e560, at 5.
Ibid.
Dubash, N.K. 2013. “The politics of climate change in India: Narratives of equity and co-benefits”. WIREs Climate Change 4(3): 191–201, at 197.
IPCC, supra, note 12, at 539.
Supra, note 59, at 15 and 28.
Supra, note 50, at 140.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 141.
Santosh Kumar Chander Sheikhar v. The State of Punjab and Ors. (1977)79 PLR 353.
Entry No. 5: Local government, that is to say, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations, improvement trusts, district boards, mining settlement authorities and other local authorities for the purpose of local self-government or village administration.
The Constitution of India, 1949, Article 243-Q.
Ibid., 11th Schedule, Article 243-G.
Ibid., 12th Schedule, Article 243-W.
Gandhi, S. and Pethe, A. 2017. “Emerging Challenges of Metropolitan Governance in India”. Economic and Political Weekly 52: 55–65, at 56.
Das, M. and Chattopadhyay, S. 2018. “Strengthening Fiscal Health of Urban Local Bodies”. Economic and Political Weekly 53: 53–61, at 55.
Supra, note 72, Article 243-Y.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
See, for instance, Ahluwalia, I., Mohanty, P.K., Mathur, O., Roy, D., Khare, A. and Mangla, S. 2019. State of Municipal Finances in India: A Study Prepared for the Fifteenth Finance Commission, at 8. New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations; and supra, note 75, at 60. See also, Reserve Bank of India. “Trends in Municipal Finances in India”. In: Reserve Bank of India, Development Research Group. (Undated). Municipal Finance in India – An Assessment. Available at .
Ahluwalia et al., ibid.
Supra, note 76, at 54.
Roy, D. and Mangla, S. 2019. “Municipal Finance Trends”. In: Ahluwalia et al., supra, note 84.
Ibid.
Bandyopadhyay, S. 2014. “Municipal Finance in India: Some Critical Issues”, at 4. International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series. Paper 11.
Ibid., at 7.
Ibid.
Supra, note 87, at 16 and 17.
Ibid., at 17.
Supra, note 75, at 60.
Kapoor, G. and Pati, P. 2017. “Municipal Bond Market in India: Discussion Paper”, at 16.
Ahluwalia et al., supra, note 84, at 7.
Sudhira, H.S. et al. 2007. “City Profile: Bangalore”. Cities 24: 379–390.
Supra, note 75, at 63.
Sivaramakrishnan, K.C. 2011. “Re-visioning Indian Cities: The Urban Renewal Mission”, at 94. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Sami, N. 2017. “Multi-level climate change planning”, at 93. In: Moloney, S. et al. (Eds) Local Action on Climate Change: Opportunities and Constraints. Routledge Publishers.
Ibid., see Executive Summary.
Ibid.
Supra, note 47, at 225.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 69–70.
Ziervogel, G. et al. 2016. “Strengthening the knowledge-policy interface through co-production of a climate adaptation plan: leveraging opportunities in Bergrivier Municipality, South Africa”. Environment and Urbanization 28(2): 455–474, at 459.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 460.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 461.
Ibid., at 462.
Ibid.
Goodsite, M.E. et al. 2013. “White Paper: Climate Change Adaptation in the Nordic Countries”, at 11. Oslo: Nordic Climate, Mitigation, Adaptation and Economic Policies Network.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 12.
Jensen, A., Nielsen, H.Ø. and Nielsen, M.L. 2016. Climate Adaptation in Local Governance: Institutional Barriers in Danish Municipalities, at 10. Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, No. 104. Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science.
Ibid.
Ibid., at 8–9.
Supra, note 117, at 13.
Ibid.
Pearce, T.D. et al. 2018. “How is Australia adapting to climate change based on a systematic review?” Sustainability 10(9): at 1.
See City of Melbourne. “Adapting to climate change”. Website at https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/vision-goals/eco-city/Pages/climate-change-adaptation-strategy.aspx; and “Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Refresh 2017”, at 15. Available at .
National Solar Mission, National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Water Mission, National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, National Mission for a Green India, National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.
Pandve, H. 2009. “India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change”. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 13(1). See Sudhirendar Sharma’s critique of NAPCC.
Ibid., see Sunita Narain’s critique of NAPCC.
Ibid.; and Rosencranz, A. et al. 2010. “Climate Change Adaptation, Policies, and Measures in India”. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review 22: 575–590, at 576.
Supra, note 11, at 457.
Sharma and Tomar, supra, note 11, at 454.
Ibid., at 16.
Sharma, D. et al. 2014. “Building urban climate resilience: learning from the ACCCRN experience in India”. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development 6(2): 133–153, at 143.
Archer, D. et al. 2014. “Moving towards inclusive urban adaptation: approaches to integrating community-based adaptation to climate change at city and national scale”. Climate and Development 6(4): 345–356, at 345–347.
Supra, note 138, at 35–37.
Ibid., at 38.