The ICLEI World Congress – Malmö, Summit comes to an end. The three-day conference provided an array of ideas on bringing sustainability and inclusivity to cities. Delegates and officials from South Asia made a striking presence at the Congress. Atishi Marlena Singh, Vice-President, ICLEI, highlighted how the country’s capital has strived towards equity, inclusion, and sustainability.

At the Urban Freight session, the launch of ‘Low Carbon Action Plan for Urban Freight’ and ‘Mapping Supply Chains for Kochi, Panaji, Shimla’ took place under the EcoLogistics project. Diverse sessions were held in which the regional leaders threw light on their cities’ development models and way forward. Dr. Kunal Khemnar, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Pune, focused on the two-wheelers being a major cause of pollution in the city. He emphasised promoting public transport and low carbon fuel at the Urban Shift project meet-up during the event. Angelo Fernandes, Commissioner, Panaji Municipal Corporation during a session on last-mile logistics, apprised to reduce carbon emissions and promote electric vehicles.

In the Ecologistics session, Mr. Ashish Kumar Kohli, Hon’ble Commissioner, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, presented the strategies of freight management in Shimla. Dr. Nurun Nahar, Bangladesh, focused on social inclusion in the National policy and stressed the importance of data on social issues. In the session on the circular economy, Mr. Anand Voleti, Team Head, Greater Warangal Smart City Corporation, dwelled on the initiatives for managing plastic waste and the challenges associated with it. He also declared a few colonies in Warangal “Plastic-free”. At the closing ceremony the Additional Municipal Commissioner, Pune, Dr. Kunal Khemnar, talked about the city’s initiatives and commitment to become carbon neutral as well as the race to zero.

The detailed article will be uploaded soon.