India invests in climate resilient infrastructure to boost economy
Envisioning as an Atmanirbhar Bharat or a self-reliant India, the government announced a package of infrastructure projects to help boost the economy that the pandemic weakened.
The Indian Express article announced India’s plan to roll out 7,400 national infrastructure projects, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Smart Cities Mission. These projects offer opportunities to mainstream climate risks and nature-based solutions (NbS) into its infrastructure.
The article says that climate change effects like temperature rise and increased frequency of extreme climatic events result in significant economic losses and add pressure beyond the infrastructure designed thresholds, which can risk collapse.
Climate change risks to infrastructure highlight the need for urgent investment for its adaptation and resilience to withstand its impacts.
The costly consequence of climate change should spur actions from both public and private sectors to climate-proof or build resilience in infrastructure and ensure that climate change policy and risk are integrated into future infrastructure decisions.
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