Evaluating Climate Change Mitigation Adaptation Potential of Sustainable Urban Transport Measures in India

Abstract

The global climate is transforming due to increased GHG emissions. Globally, the response to climate change has been through mitigation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Urban transportation is the second leading source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to its dependency on fossil fuels. The growing number of vehicles and road infrastructure-based supply in Indian cities is viewed as the essential driver of climate change and relevant consequences affecting cities sustainability. Under the 2015 Paris agreement, India had declared its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). INDC aims to curtail the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 33-35 % by 2030 from the 2005 level. Despite the mitigation measures being taken, some climate change effects are inevitable due to the constant feeding of emissions into the atmosphere. One of these climate change effects is the severe and extreme precipitation resulting in flooding. The uncontrolled expansion of human-made structures is creating more impervious urban areas. These changes, coupled with intense rainfalls and inadequate flood channelling infrastructure, lead to urban flooding. Adaptation is seen as the necessary tool to address these climate change effects... newline