India may need up to $13.4 trillion for urban climate resilience by 2070: Report

Time of India

2 days ago

New Delhi: As India's cities expand rapidly, building climate-resilient infrastructure will come at a massive cost. A new report by World Resources Institute (WRI) India and GIZ estimates that India may need as much as $13.4 trillion by 2070 to prepare its urban areas for climate risks, including floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events.
Based on a moderate urbanisation projection of 54 per cent by 2050 and 66 per cent by 2070, the total investment needed would be $2.9 trillion by 2050 and $13.4 trillion by 2070. Even under a conservative urbanisation scenario—where 43 per cent of the population is urban by 2050 and 52 per cent by 2070—the estimated funding requirement is $2.4 trillion and $10.9 trillion, respectively.
The report titled 'Mainstreaming Urban Climate Resilience: A Policy and Institutional Framework for India' underlines that more than 80 per cent of the infrastructure that will exist in Indian cities by 2050 is yet to be built, and unless resilience is embedded in future construction, India could face massive financial, social, and environmental losses.
By 2030, India's urban population is projected to reach 600 million, accounting for 40 per cent of the national population. These urban centres will be responsible for more than 70 per cent of India's GDP, consume 75 per cent of natural resources, and emit 80 per cent of the country's greenhouse gases, the report notes.
'Integrating climate resilience in urban infrastructure is a necessity. Without it, the cascading impacts of urban floods, heatwaves and other climate-induced events could have serious consequences for energy, water, housing and transport systems,' said Madhav Pai, CEO of WRI India.
The report identifies key institutional, governance, and financing gaps and proposes a roadmap for integrating resilience into urban development. It recommends the formation of dedicated climate resilience cells at city and state levels, integrating resilience into financial planning and public budgets, and strengthening risk-informed planning through data and digital platforms.
The study also calls for streamlining roles among central, state, and local agencies, aligning existing urban missions such as Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT, and National Mission on Sustainable Habitat with climate resilience goals, and attracting long-term investments through appropriate policy reforms.
The report supports India's commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and aligns with national programmes such as the Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT, and the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat.
It also calls for streamlining responsibilities among central, state and local agencies and creating enabling conditions to attract long-term infrastructure investments aligned with climate resilience goals.