As Indian cities develop Climate Action Plans (CAPs) to mitigate and adapt to climate change, a critical question remains: who benefits from these solutions, and whose needs remain unaddressed? Without an explicit focus on equity and inclusion, climate action risks reinforcing social inequalities rather than reducing them. This blog examines how prioritising equity and people-centred planning can deliver benefits for both climate outcomes and social development. Climate action is not just about reducing emissions—it must ensure that development and climate goals move forward together.

City Climate Action Plans: What Do They Prioritise?

Climate Action Plans (CAPs) are strategic documents developed by city governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and prepare for the impacts of climate change (adaptation) (NIUA, 2021). As Indian cities expand and face increasing climate hazards—such as heatwaves, floods, and air pollution—CAPs serve as essential blueprints for urban policy, infrastructure, and design.

Most Indian CAPs prioritise mitigation actions in sectors such as energy, buildings, mobility, and waste. Some also address adaptation measures focused on climate risks like flooding, extreme heat, and cyclones. However, these plans often emphasise technocratic, infrastructure-driven interventions while neglecting social equity and the lived realities of marginalised communities.

The table below summarises the key focus areas in CAPs and highlights the gaps in addressing equity and inclusion:

For example, focusing on rooftop solar typically involves incentivising private households to install solar panels, but these incentives rarely reach informal settlements or renters who lack legal tenure or stable roofs. Expanding EV bus fleets improves citywide mobility but often does not extend to peripheral, low-income neighbourhoods where last-mile connectivity is inadequate. Transit equity refers to transport systems that ensure affordable, safe, and accessible mobility options for all residents, particularly those in underserved areas.

Energy Transitions: Technological Progress Without Social Inclusion

Energy transitions are at the centre of many CAPs’ mitigation strategies. Cities propose rooftop solar installations, green building codes, and energy-efficient appliances to reduce emissions. However, these plans often assume that all urban residents have the resources, property rights, and infrastructure to participate in such transitions.

Leh’s CAP, for instance, promotes decentralised solar initiatives, including training programmes for women in solar maintenance. However, many households in peri-urban and tribal areas continue to rely on firewood due to limited access to clean energy options. These communities, often without grid connections or stable roofs, remain excluded from the benefits of renewable energy transitions. The solar livelihoods initiative is valuable, but separate attention is needed to address the infrastructural barriers that prevent low-income households from adopting solar solutions.

The underlying issue is that the energy strategies do not adequately contextualise solutions to the realities of urban poverty, rental housing, and informal settlements. Without addressing affordability, tenure security, and infrastructure access, energy transitions risk deepening existing social divides.

Mobility: Low-Carbon Transport Must Be Inclusive

Urban mobility is another major focus in CAPs, aiming to reduce transport-related emissions through metro expansions, electric vehicle (EV) promotion, and non-motorised transport planning. Mobility justice broadly refers to ensuring equitable access to safe, affordable, and efficient transport systems across all socio-economic groups (Smith et al., 2024).

Ahmedabad’s CAP, for example, proposes substantial investments in metro systems and EV charging networks. However, these upgrades frequently do not serve low-income communities or informal settlements located at the city’s periphery. The challenge is that infrastructure investments are typically concentrated in higher-income localities and central corridors, leaving low-income neighbourhoods disconnected. These groups face persistent barriers due to insufficient last-mile connectivity, unaffordable fares, and a lack of safe pedestrian infrastructure.

Shimla offers a more inclusive example. The city’s CAP recognises the spatial constraints of its narrow heritage lanes and proposes small electric minibuses that can navigate these areas, improving access for all residents. Such targeted interventions demonstrate how mobility transitions can be socially adaptive when planned with diverse communities in mind.

Adaptation Planning: Addressing Vulnerability Across Preparation, Response, and Recovery

While mitigation strategies dominate most CAPs, adaptation planning—focused on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from climate impacts—is equally critical. However, many CAPs prioritise infrastructure-based solutions, such as stormwater drains and early warning systems, without fully incorporating social vulnerability mapping or differentiated community needs.

According to Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) using the Prepare → Respond → Recover framework, adaptation planning must address all phases of climate resilience. Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan is often referenced as a best practice, providing SMS alerts and establishing public cooling centres (preparation and response). However, the plan falls short in ensuring that informal workers, such as street vendors and sanitation staff, receive tailored protections beyond generic advisories. Informal settlements often lack the infrastructure for cooling, and residents may not be able to access public cooling spaces.

Vijayawada’s CAP includes localised, SMS-based flood alerts targeting high-risk informal areas (response), demonstrating a more community-focused approach. Jammu’s post-flood recovery efforts prioritised rebuilding homes for low-income residents (recovery), offering an example of adaptive recovery that centres on vulnerable groups.

Despite these positive examples, most city CAPs do not systematically integrate social vulnerability indicators, such as caste, gender, disability, and occupational precarity, into their adaptation planning. Addressing adaptation through the Prepare → Respond → Recover framework can help cities better plan for inclusive resilience that extends beyond physical infrastructure to social systems.

Towards Climate Justice: A People-Centred Path Forward

To achieve inclusive and climate-resilient urban futures, India’s CAPs must adopt an equity-first approach that places people, particularly marginalised communities, at the core of climate planning. This requires:

- Energy: Expanding subsidised solar schemes and retrofitting public and rental housing to ensure that clean energy solutions are accessible to all residents.
- Mobility: Identifying transit deserts, improving last-mile connectivity, and investing in small electric vehicles suitable for dense or peripheral areas.
- Adaptation: Scaling up green infrastructure in informal settlements, ensuring accessible flood defences, and strengthening community-based early warning systems. Post-disaster recovery must explicitly prioritise housing, employment, and financial support for the most affected groups.

Achieving climate justice requires targeted planning and investment that address both infrastructure and social inequalities, ensuring that the benefits of climate action are shared equitably across all urban communities.

Reference:

- Mohai, P., Pellow, D., & Roberts, J. T. (2009). Environmental justice. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 34(1), 405–430. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-082508-094348

- National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). (2022). City Climate Action Plans: Guidebook for Indian Cities.

- Smith, T., Herda, C., Hsu, M., Freeman, C., Sanchez, M. B., Ph. D., & University of California, Davis. (2024). Mobility Justice: A New Framework. In Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center (Research Report PSR-21-44; p. 2). Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center. https://www.metrans.org/research/mobility-justice-a-new-framework-for-transportation-researchers-and-professionals

- United Nations. (2015). Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. https://www.preventionweb.net/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf