Print page

Capacity Building for Low Carbon and Climate Resilient City Development in India (CapaCITIES)


India’s 8000+ cities contribute to more than 70% of its GHG emissions and are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. The CapaCITIES exit phase will consolidate results of the Ph. 1 and 2 of the Indo-Swiss collaboration on low carbon and climate resilient urban development, support institutionalisation for autonomous implementation of Net-Zero Climate Resilient City Action Plans by cities, and disseminate and upscale results at the national level.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
India
Climate change and environment
Water
Energy conservation & efficiency
Energy policy
Water resources conservation
01.08.2024 - 31.07.2026
 CHF  1’500’000
The project in brief
Background India is rapidly urbanizing. With a projected increase in demand for energy and infrastructure, cities will continue to be major contributors to India’s GHG emissions. In the previous phases, capacities of 8 cities were built to develop and implement Climate Resilient city Action Plans (CRCAPs). By the end of phase 2, CRCAPs were revised to Net-Zero CRCAPs, in alignment with India’s ‘Net-Zero by 2070’ target. To support implementation, and assure continuation beyond project exit, institutional mechanisms created in earlier phases require strengthening. There is also significant potential for up-scaling the project interventions to cities across India by disseminating the learnings at national and state level. In the exit phase, the project will consolidate existing mechanisms, institutionalise Net Zero CRCAP implementation and transfer the knowledge and capacities to cities and states in order to enable autonomous implementation of Net-Zero CRCAPs. The project will work in the two states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and six cities of Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Vadodara (Gujarat) and Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Trichy (Tamil Nadu).
Objectives

Overall Goal of the CapaCITIES Project:

City and state governments durably transition towards net zero climate resilient urban development.

Overall Goal of the Exit Phase:

Consolidate and scale-up the successes from previous phases as well as institutionalise capacities for implementing Net-Zero Climate Resilient City Action Plans (CRCAPs)
Target groups City municipal corporations, State Urban Development Authorities, National Institute of Urban Affairs and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Private sector, Civil society organizations, Multilateral/Regional Development Banks.
Medium-term outcomes

O1: Comprehensive net-zero climate planning and action institutionalised in selected Indian cities and states.

O2: Cities and states capacitated to prepare climate investment plans and projects for mobilising and accessing climate finance.

O3: Knowledge enhanced at the state and national level for upscaling city climate action.
Results

Expected results:  

  1. Net Zero CRCAP implementation institutionalised in 6 cities; Net-Zero CRCAPs replicated in new cities by partner states
  2. Climate Investment Planning for financing Net-Zero CRCAP implementation institutionalised in at least 6 cities
  3. Capacity building events, training workshops and peer exchanges conducted; Learnings, tools and methodologies disseminated at national level


Results from previous phases:  

  1. All 8 partner cities, including Ahmedabad (7 mio inhab.) pioneered net-zero climate action plans in India/South Asia, aligned to India’s ‘Net-Zero’ target
  2. GHG mitigation of 105’174 Mt CO2 eq from 20 projects and 4.5 Mio beneficiaries of adaptation measures from 12 projects during phase 2
  3. 8 partner cities budgeted CHF 1250.98 Mio for Net-Zero CRCAP implementation and developed an investment pipeline of CHF 19.49 million for projects
  4. Various pilot projects upscaled e.g. 1.5 TPD pilot biogas plant scaled up to a 200 TPD plant through private sector
Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
Private sector
  • Swiss Private Sector
  • South Pole, ICLEI South Asia, Econcept AG (organised in a consortium, whereas South Pole is the point of contact for contractual arrangements)


Coordination with other projects and actors World Bank, Asian Development Bank, KfW (German Investment Bank); SDC projects in India: Passive Cooling for a Low Carbon Built Environment (BeCool) and Clean Air Project; Swiss network: Swiss General Enterprise and Swiss Business Hub. C40 and Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) Network; Swiss initiative “Sustainability with a Plus”; SDC’s Asia Section.
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    1’500’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    236’000 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF   9’076’671 Budget inclusive project partner CHF   11’687’000
Project phases Phase 3 01.08.2024 - 31.07.2026   (Current phase) Phase 2 16.07.2019 - 31.12.2024   (Current phase) Phase 1 01.10.2014 - 31.12.2019   (Completed)
  • Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation ENERGY
    ENERGY
    WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION
    Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation
    Energy conservation and demand-side efficiency
    Energy policy and administrative management
    Water resources conservation (including data collection)
    Aid Type Mandate with fiduciary funds
    Project number

    7F09012

Start of page
Last update 03.05.2023