Delhi has joined the UN backed campaign “Race to Resilience”, to catalyse a step-change for climate resilience. It has pledged to include achieving a 25 per cent green cover within the next five years.
The announcement during an event at the Climate Week NYC on Wednesday, comes with a set of commitments aimed at enhancing climate resilience while fostering sustainable development. These include investments in circular economy to re-purpose and reduce waste and in decentralised renewable energy sources to enhance access to clean and sustainable energy.
According to the India State of Forest Report, Delhi’s green cover currently stands at 23.06 per cent.
The government said initiatives, such as the Delhi City of Lakes project, will rejuvenate water bodies, improve water quality and reduce flooding.
Delhi is one of the hottest cities in India and ranks among the most susceptible to heat waves due to its large population and a significant concentration of lower-income groups. Delhi’s draft action plan on climate change says the city is projected to suffer losses of Rs 2.75 lakh crore by 2050 due to the impacts of climate change, with changes in precipitation and temperature patterns posing significant threats to the most vulnerable populations.
The national capital has also set its eyes on becoming a national and global leader in rooftop solar generation through the new Delhi Solar Policy. The overarching objective is to increase the installed capacity of rooftop solar plants to meet 10 per cent of Delhi’s annual energy demand, a transformation that is anticipated to create 40,000 new green jobs in this sector.
