The sixth Urban 20 (U20) Mayoral Summit concluded on Saturday in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, setting a six-point collaborative agenda for “sustainable, equitable, and resilient” urban growth.
The two-day summit, which commenced on Friday, brought together officials and delegates from around the world to address pressing issues such as water security, climate finance, and the localisation of the global sustainability agenda.
With a total of 105 member cities endorsing a comprehensive communique, the summit emphasised the need for transformative action at the local level to combat the challenges posed by climate change and promote resilient urban development. The outcomes of the summit hold particular significance as they will be presented at the upcoming G20 meeting in September, further amplifying the voices of cities in shaping global policies. It was handed over to Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Puri, and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, and is scheduled to be presented at the G20 meeting in September this year.
Recognising the urgent need to address the climate crisis at the local level, the Communique emphasised the importance of transforming urban action from mere intention to action. It highlighted six points of action, which include encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours, ensuring water security, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture and economy, reinventing frameworks for urban governance and planning, and catalysing digital urban futures.
According to a press statement from C40 Cities, a permanent convenor of U20, the members stressed the necessity of restructuring development finance to increase support for climate action in cities. They specifically emphasised the need for increased adaptation measures in Global South cities that are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and hindered by a significant finance gap.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Puri, commended the efforts of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in transforming urban areas from being seen as problematic and challenging to becoming opportunities. He noted that under the National Democratic Alliance, the government’s spending on urban schemes has significantly increased compared to the United Progressive Alliance regime. Puri stated, “Between 2004 and 2014, the total expenditure on urban schemes was ₹1.57 lakh crore. In the last nine years, starting in 2014, it’s been ₹18 lakh crore.”
Amitabh Kant added that India has undergone a transformation, moving from being a reluctant urbanizer to leapfrogging into the future through the utilisation of technology.
Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, emphasised the pressing issues of climate finance and water shortage. She highlighted the insufficient availability of financing for climate action and urged the G20 to collaborate on resolving this problem.
The U20 Mayoral Summit was inaugurated on July 7th by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Kaushal Kishore, the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the two-day summit saw a record turnout with over 430 delegates, including representatives from 57 cities worldwide and 35 cities from India. The participants included 45 mayors and deputy mayors from global cities, as well as delegates from international cities such as Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Dubai, Durban, Riyadh, Rio, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. The U20 is one of the engagement groups of the G20, comprising countries such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the UK, and the US, which collectively represent two-thirds of the world’s population, around 85% of the global GDP, and over 75% of the global trade.
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