The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in collaboration with the Delegation of European Union to India (EUD India), the European Union-funded International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia Australasia programme and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) launched an e-certificate course on Mainstreaming Urban Climate Action at a virtual event today.
The e-certificate course – open to policymakers/analysts, city officials, youth and early career researchers engaged in the urban space across the world – offers an opportunity to build technical capacities in addressing city-level climate action. It allows them to understand and apply climate change knowledge in decision-making, urban policymaking, and governance processes. The e-course is open-source and is available on the National Urban Learning Platform (NULP) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), implemented by NIUA.
Congratulating the team on the launch of the course, H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India said, “Climate change and biodiversity loss are existential threats for mankind. We all need to come together to address these challenges. Cities also have to play their part and become green, digital and resilient. This e-certificate course will equip Indian cities with knowledge and resources to find sustainable solutions suitable to the local context”. Clear action and more ambition are needed internationally if we are to arrive in Glasgow for the critically important COP26 with global commitments that keep the 1.5°C limit on global temperature rise within sight. Both the EU and India have ambitious renewable energy targets for the next decade and are working closely together in the area of energy efficiency, renewables, sustainable finance, climate mitigation, and adaptation.
The keynote address at the launch event of the e-certificate course was delivered by Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA. In his address, he stated, “NULP is a watershed initiative for capacity building in urban development in India, one that will pioneer training and upskilling into a new era. I am pleased to share that the first international course on NULP is on Environment and Climate Change, a course that will address one of the top five urban learning needs as reported by officials & administrators from our pioneer cities. I congratulate TERI and the international partners, EUD and IURC, on taking the initiative and sharing their work on this domain with the rest of the urban ecosystem. I look forward to many more timely courses from this collaboration.”
Mr. Sanjay Seth, Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, TERI, also deliberated on the value created from the partnership between TERI, IURC, EUD, and NIUA. He added, “Partnerships like these are instrumental in facilitating the exchange of global knowledge and enhancing capacities of urban practitioners towards achieving the common goal of climate resilience”.
Underscoring the global character of the e-course and how it is tailored for the long-term benefits of urban resilience practitioners, Mr. Panagiotis Karamanos, IURC Urban Development Expert, India, stated “During COVID times, it is important to develop new climate initiatives for cities across the globe. This user-friendly e-course effectively addresses this need by engaging key partners in creating a framework for effective action”.
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