Reports & Papers
Climate Action in Indian Cities: From Readiness Assessment to Measurable Outcomes
Indian cities are increasingly exposed to climate risks such as extreme heat, flooding, water stress and cyclones, making urban climate action central to India’s resilience and Net Zero ambitions. Dr Ravikant Joshi’s paper reviews the evolution of climate action in Indian cities, including national frameworks such as the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat and the ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF), alongside initiatives such as CapaCITIES, Global Covenant of Mayors, CITIIS and other technical-assistance programmes. While these initiatives have strengthened institutional capacity and climate planning, the overall level of urban climate readiness remains low. The CSCAF recorded an average readiness score of 30.14% across 126 cities in 2020–21 and 34% across 226 cities in 2022, indicating significant gaps in preparedness and action.
The paper argues that India must now shift from readiness and planning to implementation, measurable outputs and outcomes. Climate action remains fragmented across programmes and cities, with limited coverage, discontinuity in assessment, no consolidated national database, and weak monitoring of actual outcomes. Dr Joshi recommends an annual city climate readiness and action assessment, a transparent national platform tracking climate plans, projects, investments and outcomes, and stronger measurement of emissions reduction, resilience and vulnerability indicators. He further calls for integrating climate resilience into urban infrastructure investments and establishing sustained financing mechanisms for city-level climate action. The central message is that India does not need to start from scratch; rather, it needs to consolidate existing initiatives and build a continuous system that tracks whether urban climate plans are actually being implemented and producing measurable results.
Dr Ravikant Joshi, Senior Fellow, Urban Finance & Governance, at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi, India.
Views expressed by the authors are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.
Dr. Ravikant Joshi is an Urban Finance specialist with over 35 years of experience, including as Chief Accounts Officer of Vadodara Municipal Corporation. He led key municipal financial reforms, including implementing accrual-based accounting across 159 urban bodies in Gujarat, and has worked with major national and international organisations while contributing to urban issues and public awareness.
