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The document details CDKN's efforts in India, focusing on integrating climate change with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and promoting green growth. Key initiatives include addressing heat-health vulnerability in Ahmadabad, improving disaster management planning in Leh, and researching climate-adapted shelter design. It also highlights the challenges facing the adoption of green construction technologies in India, such as lack of technical capacity, inadequate assessment tools, and bureaucratic hurdles.

The document outlines a framework for Ahmedabad to mitigate the deadly effects of extreme heat, which saw temperatures reach 46.8°C (116°F) during a May 2010 heat wave. It identifies a wide network of stakeholders across central, state, and municipal governments and recommends the creation of a Heat-Health Nodal Office to coordinate communication and response. Key proposed actions include installing additional weather gauges, implementing passive cooling like white china mosaic roofs, and expanding urban green cover. The brief emphasizes the need for targeted outreach to vulnerable populations, such as slum residents and outdoor workers, and suggests integrating heat warnings into existing disease surveillance systems.

The document argues that local stakeholder consultations for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in India and Mexico are frequently inadequate or falsified due to a lack of clear guidelines and oversight. In India, project proponents often omit meeting details from public notices, provide documents in English that are inaccessible to impoverished villagers, and produce reports that omit unfavorable comments. The author provides case studies from Gujarat involving a solar project and a biogas project to illustrate how villagers were excluded or ignored. To improve transparency and sustainable development, the document recommends mandatory videography of consultations, publishing notices in local languages and multiple newspapers, and ensuring the public is informed about their 2% share of carbon credit sales.

The report examines the transition from traditional, inefficient bus services to modernized systems, primarily Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), across 13 cities in Latin America and Asia. It highlights that while these systems generally improve travel speed, reduce emissions, and lower capital costs compared to rail, they often suffer from rushed implementation, inadequate user education, and financial instability due to politically determined fares. The analysis emphasizes the importance of high-level political commitment, comprehensive planning, and the use of technical fare-setting to ensure long-term sustainability.

The India-UK partnership focuses on making Indian cities climate-smart by integrating climate risk data into urban planning and infrastructure. Key initiatives include the 'Future Proofing Indian Cities' programme, which assessed 59 cities for environmental risks, and the 'Disaster Proofing Indian Smart Cities' project, which provides guidance on the resilience of Digital Information Technology (DIT). The partnership has delivered specific action plans and investment strategies for cities such as Mysore, Madurai, Bangalore, Aluva, and Kolkata, while also supporting the development of national Heat Action Plans to combat increasing extreme heat waves.

The document details a three-day outreach program in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed at disseminating the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). It covers a press conference, a formal launch event for policymakers, and a session for young leaders. Key discussions focused on the specific vulnerabilities of Bangladesh—particularly sea-level rise and extreme weather—and the need to integrate AR5 science into national development planning, such as the 7th Five Year Plan. The events highlighted Bangladesh's leadership in adaptation through the BCCSAP and BCCTF, while noting a critical gap in peer-reviewed scientific publications from the country.

The report highlights that approximately 3 billion people lack essential cooling, leading to millions of deaths annually from heatwaves, vaccine spoilage, and food insecurity. It identifies 9 high-risk countries—including India, China, and Nigeria—and categorizes vulnerable populations into rural poor, urban poor, and low-middle income groups. The document argues that meeting this demand sustainably is critical to achieving the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment, as inefficient cooling could lead to a massive increase in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Proposed solutions include passive cooling (e.g., cool roofs), district cooling, and innovative financing like PAYGO models.

The report identifies a significant global cooling access gap affecting approximately 3.4 billion people, categorized into the rural poor, slum dwellers, carbon captives, and middle-income groups. It highlights the critical role of cooling in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly regarding heat-related mortality, vaccine preservation, and agricultural food loss. The document emphasizes the intersection of the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, warning that unmanaged demand for inefficient air conditioning could lead to a massive increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It proposes a holistic 'thinking thermally' approach, combining passive cooling, district cooling, and efficient technology with innovative financing models like PAYGO to provide sustainable cooling for all.

The report analyzes bus system improvements across 13 cities in Latin America and Asia, highlighting the benefits of bus rapid transit (BRT) such as high usage levels and low capital investment. It identifies recurring failures in planning and implementation, including rushed launches and lack of integration with other transport modes. The document concludes with strategic recommendations for the planning and decision-making phases of urban transport reform.

The study analyzes the impact of urbanization on natural infrastructure in 10 major Indian cities from 2000 to 2015, finding significant increases in built-up areas and a corresponding loss of surface water and groundwater recharge potential. It advocates for an integrated urban blue-green approach to planning to mitigate risks like urban flooding and water scarcity.

The document argues that over 1.2 billion city dwellers lack reliable access to basic services, creating an "urban services divide" that hinders economic development and climate goals. It proposes seven transformations—ranging from partnering with alternative service providers to supporting informal workers—to improve equity, prosperity, and sustainability in rapidly growing cities.

The report argues that over 1.2 billion city dwellers lack reliable access to basic services like water, sanitation, electricity, housing, and transport, creating an "urban services divide" that hinders economic development and climate goals. To address this, the World Resources Institute proposes seven transformations: partnering with alternative service providers, improving local data through community engagement, prioritizing the vulnerable in infrastructure design, promoting transparent land management, creating diverse governance coalitions, innovating financing and subsidies, and supporting informal workers. The report highlights that investing in water and sanitation can yield returns of US$4–34 for every US$1 invested, while unsafe sanitation costs the global economy US$223 billion annually.

The study concludes that human-induced climate change made the March-April 2022 heatwave in India and Pakistan approximately 30 times more likely and about 1
C hotter than in a pre-industrial climate. The event, defined as a 1-in-100-year occurrence in today's climate, caused at least 90 deaths, triggered glacial lake outburst floods in northern Pakistan, and led to significant wheat crop yield losses in India, prompting a wheat export ban. The researchers warn that at 2
C of global warming, such heatwaves will become an additional factor of 2-20 more likely and 0.5-1.5
C hotter. Vulnerability is highest among outdoor daily wage earners and urban poor in informal settlements, though the report notes that Heat Action Plans in India, now covering 130 cities, can effectively reduce mortality.