Amid climate concerns, UP aims at heat-resilient urban infra

Lucknow: Realising its key responsibility for growth and development, UP govt is addressing challenges of climate change and embracing heat resilient infrastructure and urban sustainable cooling.Taking the first steps towards this essential goal, UP-State Transformation Commission organised high-level consultation here on Thursday, in partnership with UN Environment Programme (UNEP), to help state formulate a strategy to deal increasing urban heat known to adversely affect life of people in many ways besides impeding economic growth.“As UP grows rapidly, our responsibility is not only to build bigger cities, but safer and healthier lives. Sustainable cooling and stronger health resilience are essential to protect people—especially children, workers and the elderly—from growing impact of extreme heat. Future of development must be humane, climate-sensitive and built around the well-being of every citizen,” CEO, state transformation commission, Manoj Kumar Singh told TOI.UNEP global chief heat officer, Eleni Myrivili, said, “There is immense potential for UP as it is growing fast and in days to come, it will see new infrastructure coming up… so if the right strategies are embraced now, state’s development story will move ahead with sustainability.”Senior advisor, Swiss Development Cooperation, Switzerland, Anand Shukla dittoed. “UP can in fact show the way to rest of the country on this count,” he said. Citing an example, he said: “the Noida International Airport for instance is India’s first large-scale infrastructure project to use Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) – a sustainable, low-carbon alternative that reduces carbon emissions by up to 40% compared to traditional Portland cement.”Other experts from UNEP listed out areas in which UP can work. The list including developing sustainable and integrated cold chain systems among others. They also touched the area of passive strategies such as use of cool roof and green roof initiatives to check rising urban heat.Asked to comment if she was to give a five-point strategy that UP or any other state willing to work in this area can adapt, Eleni said: “The first step could be taking a strategic and visionary resolve which can be backed by strong political will to get the plan rolling.”Acquiring knowledge to drive this vision is the next step. “Govts can undertake assessments, talk to stakeholders and do the mapping, while building data sets to draft the primary policy in the third step. The primary policy can be studied both vertically and horizontally to formulate byelaws and frameworks at this stage,” she said.Adding that implementation plan was the fourth step she said: “Action on the byelaws and frameworks through inventories like procurement guidelines incentivising embracing eco-friendly construction come at this stage. The final stage is about monitoring and review so that the overall strategy may be improvised.”