The solutions to climate change are embedded in the local context and resources. This message emerged very clearly from the symposium entitled “Sustainable Urban Habitat and Climate change” hosted by ACCCRN India, NIUA and Mercy Corps. It was a one day event that saw the coming together of practitioners, NGOs and academics to discuss and deliberate on identifying sustainable options that make cities utilize resources optimally and deal with climate change. 

The symposium focused on thematic areas of water sensitive planning, waste water, built environment and solid waste management. These areas are now recognised as being among the most critical global issues currently posing massive challenges to cities. The way cities plan, operate, manage and consume will have a significant effect on the processes to reverse climate change and its impacts. A careful enmeshing of sustainability by the cities would help them with the alleviation of poverty, combating climate change, and making services more accessible.

This symposium focused on certain key lessons:

  1. Today many cities are striving to build themselves as climate resilient as the starting point for sustainable development. These efforts are both comprehensive and sectoral and at the same time utilise the city's potential creatively to deal with the emerging challenges of climate change.
  2. The integration of climate change aspects in fostering sustainable cities can generate synergies across sectors and even help with the realisation of goals of urban sustainability and create climate resilient cities.
  3. Climate friendly interventions are synergizing a number of green technologies for providing green solutions to complex problems in a practical way through community participation. 
  4. In order to ensure sustainability, the services in cities should be able to meet the prescribed standards and guarantee affordable tariffs to ensure inclusivity.

While climate change is adding urgency to the cities’ efforts to become more sustainable, they are now taking steps to minimize its impacts and develop sustainably. This includes using environmental resources optimally, developing habitats and disposing of waste in a way that minimises its adverse impacts.  

The symposium has raised the hope that cities are today at the forefront of both climate impacts and climate action. These actions have to be carried out carefully in order to maintain a fine balance between sustainability, inclusivity and affordability.

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