The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme of the European Union, in partnership with the Delegation of European Union to India (EUD India), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), launched an e-Certificate Course on Mainstreaming Urban Climate Action on 29 September 2021 from 11:00 AM to 11:45 AM.
The course builds on the 4-part Webinar Series on Mainstreaming Urban Climate Action designed and delivered by the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme and TERI in 2020. Open to policy makers/analysts, city officials, youth and early career researchers engaged in the urban space across the world, the e-certificate course offers an opportunity to build technical capacities in addressing city-level climate action. It allows them to understand and apply climate change knowledge in decision-making, urban policymaking and governance processes. The e-course is open-source and is available on the National Urban Learning Platform (NULP) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), implemented by NIUA.
Mr. Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat, TERI, gave a welcome address to all the participants, saying, “The pandemic and increasing climate change induced incidents reveal the vulnerability of cities due to unplanned urbanisation. Cities, however, also provide us with an opportunity to help mitigate and adapt to rising emissions and climate change. Upscaling the knowledge and enhancing capacities of stakeholders, urban practitioners and city officials is one such way to build resilience.”
Meanwhile, in her opening remarks, Ms. Kamilla Kristensen Rai, Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to India, noted that, “To maximise the city’s role in climate action, more focus is needed on sustainable outcomes when working for urbanisation. Solutions based on the local context and togetherness for climate action are also key in this.”
The sentiment was echoed by Mr. Panagiotis Karamanos, Urban Development Expert of IURC, who stated that, “Indian cities have shown strong commitment to address climate change… This course is one such great opportunity for us to work towards mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts.”
Other speakers at the event included Ms. Rhea Srivastava, Research Associate, TERI, who presented an introduction to the course (see the presentation below); Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, Director of NIUA, who delivered the keynote address; and Ms. Kakul Misra, National Program Head, Centre for Digital Governance, NIUA, who presented the use and benefits of NULP.
To access the course, please visit https://bit.ly/3u9Eblr.