Transitions Research, in partnership with the State Climate Action Cell, Government of Maharashtra, is launching a fellowship programme to build the technical capacity of city-level officials across the state to lead local climate action. The Climate Action in Cities Fellowship aims to equip participants with the skills and knowledge required to develop and implement city-level climate action plans that support low-carbon, climate-resilient urban futures.

The fellowship will be training 100+ city climate action cell officials from the 44 AMRUT cities,  and will be delivered via our tech-enabled learning platform Monsoon Academy.

India’s ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 reflects a strong commitment to climate action. However, the pathway to this transition faces a critical skills and capacity gap, particularly within the public sector, which plays a central role in implementing and mainstreaming climate strategies.

This challenge is particularly urgent in cities, which not only contribute significantly to emissions but are also highly vulnerable to climate impacts, such as intensifying heatwaves and urban flooding. As the frontline of both climate risks and climate solutions, cities must be equipped to lead. City officials and urban policymakers are therefore key actors in India’s climate transition, but they must be supported with the specialised knowledge and tools required to address the complex realities of climate mitigation and adaptation.

At the launch of the Climate Action in Cities Fellowship programme on July 31st, 2025, Dr. Vikrom Mathur, Dean of Monsoon Academy and Founding Director of Transitions Research, said:

“The Government of Maharashtra has prepared an ambitious state action plan on climate change. It has set up district and city level climate cells and promoted policies that are in the direction of a low carbon transition in the state. But there is also a strong need and interest in trying to scale, upscale and learn more about how to plan and implement a city level climate action plan. With this fellowship, we have tried to create a really pragmatic, hands-on and practical fellowship to to equip city level practitioners in the foundational knowledge that is needed to create a comprehensive climate action plan – one that covers both the ambition to achieve low carbon development and net zero in the city, and also thinks hard about how to build resilience of vulnerable communities and groups within the city”

Shri. Abhijit Ghorpade, Director of the State Climate Action Cell, Government of Maharashtra added (translated from Marathi):

“It is our stand that a progressive state like Maharashtra should take the lead in the global fight against GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, and lead the nation in doing this. We need to create leaders to do this work.
...
For this we have to create a line of leadership at the level of cities, and that is why we have organised this course.”

Designed to deepen fellows’ understanding of the intersection between climate change and urban development, the fellowship will strengthen local leadership and institutional responses to climate risks. Participants will gain actionable knowledge to assess vulnerability and risk, apply climate adaptation frameworks, and build skills in robust decision-making, strategic planning, and organisational leadership for resilience.

Faculty training the city officials will include field experts such as Divya Sharma, Executive Director at the Climate Group; Aditya Bahadur, Director at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre; Shruti Narayan, Managing Director for Regions and Mayoral Engagement, and Regional Director for South and West Asia at C40 Cities; Jai Asundi, Executive Director at the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy; Rishika Das Roy, Lead for Sectoral Strategy and Investments at the India Climate Collaborative; Vikrom Mathur, Director at Transitions Research; and Sushant Figueiredo, Research Fellow at Transitions Research.

Learn more about the course [here]

About Transitions Research: 

Transitions Research is a social science research collective examining radical transitions at the interface of technology, society, and sustainability. Its mission is to discover sustainable transition pathways for India’s future by generating anticipatory knowledge, co-creating solutions , and strengthening capacities for societal action.

About Monsoon Academy: 

Monsoon Academy is a transformative learning platform especially for India and the developing world. It empowers people through critical climate and sustainability skills, supports career transitions into green jobs, and fosters meaningful connections between professionals, mentors, peers, and employers.