Cities across the globe face the dual challenges of mitigating their carbon footprints and building resilience against escalating climate impacts while sustaining economic growth. Rapid urbanisation, infrastructure expansion, and environmental degradation contribute to rising greenhouse gas emissions and increased vulnerability to heatwaves, flooding, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. These challenges present an unprecedented opportunity for cities to rethink development pathways towards sustainability and inclusivity.

The concept of carbon neutrality—and going further, carbon positivity—has gained momentum as cities adopt ambitious strategies to reduce emissions, enhance carbon sequestration, and foster resilient ecosystems. Resilient cities integrate climate adaptation into urban planning, governance, and community engagement to safeguard livelihoods, health, and natural resources amid changing climates.

Innovative policies, cross-sector partnerships, technological advances, and locally driven community actions are central to this transformation. Cities are evolving their governance frameworks and leveraging digital tools, green infrastructure, and sustainable mobility to not only reduce emissions but also improve quality of life and social equity.

The upcoming panel will explore these themes with a special focus on rapidly urbanising cities like Pune, which is actively pursuing carbon neutral and carbon positive goals through its Climate Action Plan. The discussion aims to highlight how such cities can serve as models by combining ambitious climate targets with resilience-building measures, supportive governance, and broad stakeholder collaboration to create sustainable urban futures.