At the first India-European Union Forum, which took place 17-18 September 2019 in New Dehli, six more cities from the State of Gujarat in Western India became signatories to the Global Covenant of Mayors.

These cities – namely, Ahemadabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Junagadh – join the municipalities of Surat and Rajkot, which signed the GCoM when it was launched in South Asia in May 2018. All eight cities are leaders in the region with respect to taking action on climate change.

Gujarat is considered a role model for sustainable urban development in India and is paving the way for other States to follow-suit. It is for example, the first State in India to have a full-fledged Climate Change Ministry.

The signatory cities also form part of a sub-national network of mayors, which came together on 30 August 2019 to form the Covenant of Mayors of Gujarat for Climate and Energy (CoMG) at an impressive function held in the presence of senior political leaders, civil servants and EU officials. IUC-India will support the activities of COMG through technical assistance, exchange visits and capacity-building.

The combined population of these eight cities is over 25 million, which accounts for about 40 percent of the State’s total population. This clearly demonstrates the great potential of their commitments to taking climate change action.

The CoMG and IUC will foster core competencies in the local governments of respective cities, and facilitate capacity-building to ensure the integration of climate change and energy resilience perspectives in local planning. Through these networks, cities are able to connect and gain new perspectives on pressing sustainable development issues. CoMG has raised expectations and aspiration of the people of the State of Gujarat.

Header image by Sgmanna