Photo courtesy of Apoorvjani via Wikimedia Commons.

Rajkot is a fast-growing industrial city in the State of Gujarat. During the last decade, the city’s population increased by 28.3 percent, making it the fourth largest city in Gujarat. Through the Urban-LEDS project Rajkot is facilitating and augmenting the implementation of several key plans to effectively decrease emissions. The international project promotes urban Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) in cities in four emerging economy countries. It is jointly implemented by ICLEI and UN-Habitat, and is funded by the European Commission.

Rajkot joined the project to fulfil its ultimate goal of maintaining the city’s status as a ‘liveable’ city. Plans like the Solar City Master Plan and the Low Carbon Mobility Plan are designed to significantly contribute to this. In addition, the involvement of several departments across the city administration and the mainstreaming of climate considerations will be key to achieving success. Also noteworthy is the support that the city receives at the national and state level for its environmentally-responsible and efficient approach. This takes place within the framework provided by the Government of India, which specifically instructs local governments to focus on energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) initiatives. It has enacted legislation to improve energy conservation and has released a National Action Plan on Climate Change.

Rajkot is  a pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. It receives support from Gujarat State, providing a strong enabling framework for Rajkot to implement initiatives such as a solar energy education program to  raise awareness on solar energy opportunities in the city. As part of the project, Rajkot also developed its first GHG emissions inventory, to identify priority sectors for Low Emissions Development Strategies.

The ongoing monitoring of the Urban-LEDS project and its impact will help to assess how successful the mainstreaming of the urban LEDS in municipal structures and processes is, and to determine the level and value of cross-departmental sharing.

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To learn more about the Urban-LEDS project, please visit the website.