Hitesh Vaidya and Vijaya Venkataraman, “Mainstreaming Climate Action in Urban India,” ORF Issue Brief No. 881, Observer Research Foundation, June 2026. While climate targets are determined at the national level, cities are the arena of action. They are the largest consumers of energy and the biggest generators of emissions. Globally, urban areas account for nearly 70 percent of energy use and more than 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.[1] Cities are where climate change directly intersects with development through land-use decisions, building regulations, transport systems, water and waste services, and municipal investment choices. Climate adaptation in cities is not only an environmental necessity but an economic and social imperative. For instance, extreme heat reduces labour productivity, floods damage assets and infrastructure, and water stress undermines industrial and household security. These conditions affect vulnerable populations much more, including residents of informal settlements, outdoor workers, women, older adults, and individuals with limited access to public services. At present, India’s climate strategy is shaped by its commitment to several international frameworks on sustainability and resilience. The first of these is the 1987 Brundtland Report, which drew attention to the challenges of urban growth and argued that environmental protection, economic development, and social equity need to be addressed in an integrated manner.[2] This thinking was reinforced at the 1992 United Nations (UN) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where Agenda 21 encouraged local governments to prepare sustainability plans in consultation with communities and other stakeholders.[3] These frameworks established the expectation that cities would take responsibility for linking sustainability with development. In 2015, India became a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), which sets out a protocol for integrating disaster risk reduction into national and local development strategies and urban planning.[4] India’s approach is also guided by the UN Sustainable Development