SHIVANI SINGH

Last week, the C40, a global network of 86 cities, including six from India, released the list of 35 urban programmes to compete in its annual award on fighting climate change to be held in December.

One would have expected the more radical ideas from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai or Bengaluru to impress the world. But the only Indian city to make it to the shortlist of global finalists was Kolkata, the forgotten metro often mocked as an urban nightmare. Its solid waste management improvement project that aims to reduce the city trash sent to the landfills now competes with Milan’s food wastage reduction and Auckland’s waste to resources programmes for the top slot.

Last year, the C40 found that at least 70% of its member cities were already affected by climate change. The rising pollution, growing congestion and mounting waste are throttling local environments and contributing to global warming. If not suffering already, these cities are likely to face climate hazards such as storms, surge, floods, rain drought, heat, Like Delhi, the Mexican capital has to deal with population pressure, car-jammed streets, high air pollution levels and earthquake vulnerability. In 2014, the city passed a law recognising mobility as a fundamental right of its residents, prioritising non-motorised transport and creating a legal framework to streamline and scale up mass transit.

Till recently, services for bus, metro and Bus Rapid Transit