Expert Speak Urban Futures
Published on Jan 22, 2025

The climate crisis threatens livelihoods, worsens inequalities, and amplifies vulnerabilities. Building urban resilience to climate threats is essential to ensure no one is left behind.

A multistakeholder approach to urban climate action in India

Image Source: Getty

India has been experiencing rapid urbanisation in the last few decades, with more than 30 percent of its population now living in urban areas; this proportion is expected to rise to 40 percent by 2030. Cities are crucial economic hubs, and in India, they generate nearly 80 percent of GDP. However, the state of cities worldwide, and not just in India, is imperilled by a multitude of threats, including the climate crisis. The steady rise in extreme weather events over the past two decades has resulted in massive losses to life and property. Heavy rains in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in July 2021, for example, caused severe flooding and landslides. Sea levels are projected to rise by 0.1–0.3 metres in the next three decades, threatening to submerge critical infrastructure in many coastal cities by 2050. Severe heat waves are also becoming more frequent, endangering the lives of people living in poorly ventilated and crowded homes.

Vulnerable communities, including low-income groups, informal settlers, women, and marginalised populations, often bear the brunt of climate change due to their limited access to basic infrastructure and services. Indeed, the climate crisis not only threatens livelihoods but also exacerbates inequalities and amplifies social vulnerabilities. What is required is to build urban resilience to multidimensional climate threats to ensure that no one is left behind.

Vulnerable communities, including low-income groups, informal settlers, women, and marginalised populations, often bear the brunt of climate change due to their limited access to basic infrastructure and services.

Addressing inequities amid the rapidly accelerating climate crisis demands a collaborative approach that engages diverse stakeholders, including governments, civil society organisations, the philanthropy sector, and local communities. Governments and policymakers, as primary stewards of urban development, must take the lead in crafting robust policy frameworks that prioritise sustainability and equity. By integrating climate resilience principles in urban planning and governance, prioritising infrastructure development in vulnerable areas, and ensuring inclusive policies that consider the specific needs of marginalised communities, policymakers can lead Indian cities towards long-term sustainability. Local governments, in particular, can play a pivotal role in tailoring policies to the specific needs and dynamics of their urban landscapes. Evidence and community consultations have shown that city-level climate action plans can serve as effective frameworks for driving localised climate action in line with community needs.

A multistakeholder approach

There is no dearth of discourse on the role of national and subnational governments in leading the charge on climate action. However, it is equally important to acknowledge the role and potential of non-state actors, such as civil society organisations (CSO), philanthropists, and communities in the crusade against the defining crisis of our time.

India’s civil society comprises over 3.1 million registered organisations and is an enabler in shaping the journey of the country’s cities towards sustainability and equity. Most of these organisations are consciously integrating climate action across programmes and interventions in consideration of the ever-increasing climate crisis impact on their legacy target groups. These CSOs are uniquely positioned to be vital allies in strengthening equitable climate action across cities, with their proximity to communities, understanding of local contexts, and skills in advocacy and mobilisation.

Historically, CSOs in India have worked closely with marginalised and vulnerable communities such as the urban poor, women, those with disabilities, and migrants. These communities are the least able to prepare for or recover from the impacts of climate change-induced crises because of intersecting vulnerabilities. Moreover, CSOs are led by proximate leaders, i.e., people who belong to communities affected by marginalisation or vulnerabilities, which allows them insight into the complex root causes of the climate crisis.

These organisations work closely with communities through localised initiatives to facilitate outreach, awareness, and education. They actively strengthen community capacities and enhance climate resilience at the grassroots while ensuring that the resilience-building process is inclusive. For instance, organisations like Mahila Housing Trust, Waste Warriors, Saahas, and Biome Environmental Trust in India have successfully catalysed solutions for heat stress, integrated water management, disaster resilience, and waste management across numerous cities.

The CSOs are achieving this through the capacity building of officials, supporting government departments with data and research, leading innovative pilots, and bridging policy and practice.

The close community access gives CSOs the comparative advantage of bridging the gap between policy and on-ground implementation. CSOs have actively advocated for including community needs and realities across urban planning and processes to ensure equitable interventions. Amid the growing need to move towards the delivery and integration of climate action policy across sectors such as transport, industry, waste management, and housing, central-, state-, and city-level governments are seeking support from geographically spread CSOs in these sectors to operationalise the country’s climate commitments. The CSOs are achieving this through the capacity building of officials, supporting government departments with data and research, leading innovative pilots, and bridging policy and practice. For example, Janaagraha and Reap Benefit are contributing to stronger climate governance through research, the curation of evidence, hyperlocal data collection, and advocacy for inclusivity.

While CSOs are at the frontlines of grassroots climate action, they are often small-scale and constrained by a lack of resources to expand programmes. Collaboration between CSOs, local governments, private sectors, and international organisations is, therefore, imperative.

The role of philanthropy 

Philanthropy can provide crucial support to CSOs for capacity building. It can support grassroots organisations with proximate leadership on urban climate action, enabling them to cover organisational expenses and effectively adapt to their communities’ needs. Philanthropy can provide patient and long-term capital to build sectoral research and knowledge infrastructure, implement place-based pilot programmes for city resilience, increase access and availability of climate change knowledge to these organisations and communities, support climate-friendly policy reforms, and provide technical assistance to implement these policies. Since philanthropy has a greater risk appetite, it can also play a catalytic role in supplementing the efforts of governments, multilateral agencies, and grassroots organisations that lead the charge in climate action. Givers are now keen to incorporate an environmental and climate lens into their portfolios and invest more deliberately in climate solutions.

According to the India Philanthropy Report 2023, over 90 percent of inter-gen and now-gen donors are seeking increased involvement with emerging causes such as climate change. While this is a positive shift, philanthropy has significant room to elevate funding efforts and strengthen the narrative for adaptation and community resilience in the climate sector, which has hitherto focused on mitigation.

Investments are primarily focused on mitigation, with little attention being paid to adaptation and building resilience in cities and communities.

At present, philanthropic grants for the environment and sustainability sector amount to less than INR 200 crore (approximately US$28 million)—a small fraction of the overall philanthropic pie in the country. Investments are primarily focused on mitigation, with little attention being paid to adaptation and building resilience in cities and communities. Further, philanthropic funding has typically been concentrated in more developed states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, leaving the country’s more vulnerable regions in the lurch. There is a critical need to fill this funding gap, and the onus is on philanthropy to realise its full potential and bridge the funding gap towards equitable climate action.

The quest for a sustainable and inclusive future for communities requires a collaborative approach. Governments, civil society, philanthropy, and communities must unite to leverage their unique strengths to build resilient and equitable urban landscapes. The success of sustainable cities hinges on the ability of diverse stakeholders to collaborate effectively, transcend traditional boundaries, and forge a path towards a more sustainable and resilient urban future.

This essay is part of a larger compendium, “Confronting the Climate Crisis: Pathways to Urban Resilience”.


Akshay Shetty leads the collaborative-building efforts on climate action at ClimateRISE  

Kirti Jain leads the research and knowledge-building initiatives in inclusive and equitable climate action at ClimateRISE team

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Authors

Akshay Shetty

Akshay Shetty

Akshay Shetty leads the collaborative-building efforts on climate action at ClimateRISE ...

Read More +
Kirti Jain

Kirti Jain

Kirti Jain leads the research and knowledge-building initiatives in inclusive and equitable climate action at ClimateRISE team ...

Read More +