ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cities worldwide are becoming spots of vulnerability and contestation for resources as they face threats of climate change impacts such as sea level rise, droughts, floods, coastal erosion, heatwaves, saltwater intrusion, urban heat island etc. Cities are also the spaces for origin for GHG emissions from industries, transportation, waste production and so on. The study looks at what actions Indian city governments are taking in order to mitigate climate change and also build resilience to its impacts, with the city of Kochi as a case study. Climate action taken by Indian cities such as Indore, Pune and Surat are seen at a glance, revealing innovative actions taken up by their respective city municipal corporations. The study looks at various actions taken in Kochi, the drivers that make these actions possible, the actors involved, the processes, regulations and legislations that make this possible. The study also looks at trends of climate action over the years to see how it has evolved, showing an overall increase in climate action, mainstreaming of climate action and increase in involvement of number of actors. These trends along with data collected from interviewing crucial city climate actors gives the complete picture of how climate action is carried out by Kochi city. Finally, the study also reveals that that although major fund diversions did not happen, some projects were stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, also halting discourses between actors and reducing the involvement of international actors in the local action.
