India’s smart city mission

98 cities to be set up in the next five years:

by S. Gopikrishna Warrier

As India prepares to select the first 20 cities under the Smart Cities Mission, a recently released report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate (GCEC), has found that there is a US$16.6 trillion economic opportunity for cities to turn into low carbon development pathways.

Cities aggregate population, make a strong contribution towards economic growth and have high intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Due to their high population density and high economic activity, any savings on GHG emissions made in the cities will have a disproportionately high impact on national and global emission reduction figures.

The percentage of the world’s population living in cities is growing, and this makes them important locations for making GHG emission reductions. It is estimated that 1.4 million people are added to the world urban population every week; by 2030, around 60% of the world population will be living in these urban centres.

Cities are centres of economic growth and are estimated to contribute US$62 trillion to the global GDP. By 2030, this is expected to rise to US$115 trillion, which would be equal to 87% of the global GDP.

The GCEC report makes an assessment of 11 clusters of low carbon activities for cities. The total urban population considered is 3.6 billion in 2010, 5 billion in 2030 and 6.3 billion in 2050. Through the 11 clusters of low carbon pathways, there would be a reduction in the annual GHG emissions by 3.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Gt CO2e) by 2030 and 8.0 Gt CO2e in 2050.

Though there would be a cost for opting for low carbon pathways, the benefits will outweigh this, states the report. The low carbon investments would collectively pay for themselves in 16 years. Between 2015 and 2050, these investments would have a net savings of US$16.6 trillion.

New technology

The 11 clusters of activities relate to buildings (heating efficiency in new buildings, heating retrofits, improved appliances and lighting and solar photovoltaic), transport (urban planning and reduced passenger transport demand, shift in passenger mode and improved transit efficiency, passenger car efficiency and electrification, freight logistics improvement and freight vehicle efficiency and electrification) and waste management (recycling and landfill gas capture).

By 2050, low carbon activities will result in a GHG abatement of 36% from residential buildings, 21% from commercial buildings, 29% from passenger transport, 6% from freight transport, and 8% from waste management. The quickest payback is with improved appliances and lighting in residential buildings, where the money invested would return in 73 days. The longest payback is for heating retrofits in commercial buildings – 23 years.

The interventions are not very difficult, if thought through and implemented. For instance, making cities more compact, connected and efficient can have both economic and environmental benefits, and improve productivity. It will also reduce the cost of providing services and infrastructure such as public transport, energy, water supply and waste management.

Without compact development, the cost of congestion itself would eat into productive time and money. In India, congestion in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai leads to economic losses and adverse health impacts.

Mass transit

Expanding and improving mass transit has direct benefits. The transport sector is the fastest growing consumer of fossil fuels and generator of GHG emissions. Shifting from individual motorized transport to public transport and non-motorized alternatives have wide-ranging benefits. Cities across the world have been experimenting with innovative methods such as congestion fees and bus rapid transport systems.

Reducing energy consumption in buildings and encouraging roof-top solar photovoltaics and encouraging regional power grids energized by renewable sources, can help cities reduce their carbon footprint substantially. There are many innovative examples being worked out in different parts of the world, and can be implemented in India without much investment.

For India, the GCEC report comes at an appropriate time when the country is discussing the Smart City Mission. The government had listed 98 Indian cities to be developed as smart cities in the next five years, and city administrations are bidding to get into the first 20 to start the scheme this year.

Among the 98 cities selected, the states of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have the highest number, with 12 cities each. Jammu and Kashmir has asked for more time to decide on its potential smart city.

-indiaclimatedialogue.net