The New Urban Agenda (NUA) is an accelerator to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 11 - Sustainable cities and communities. NUA envisions the Future of Cities in 2030 as “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life; cities for all where no-one & no-place is left behind.”…
Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) being her energy future, India organizes founding International Solar Alliance (ISA) conference in New Delhi on 11 March 2018. Traditional energy sources will not be enough to meet the future energy demand of India, even if they do, there will be an environmental cost to it. By taking lead in creating an international intergovernmental platform for Solar PV, India has shown commitment towards sustainable development and bolstered herself as an advocate of multilateralism as well. However, Solar PV may not be as green as perceived given its potential to generate huge e-waste and complicated disposal system. India must set the agenda for research & manufacturing of the greener Solar PVs.
The ninth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF9) was convened by UN-Habitat during 7-13 February 2018 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, India, was representing Government of India at WUF9. I had an opportunity to interview him. Here is what he says:
The ninth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF9) was convened by UN-Habitat during 7-13 February 2018 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Focus of the forum was to localize and scale up the New Urban Agenda (NUA). In principle, implementation of NUA is important for India. However, how far will NUA be applicable to Indian circumstances is yet to be assessed.