The two-day Urban 20 Mayoral Summit, hosted by the chair city Ahmedabad, in Gandhinagar concluded with representatives from 105 cities across the world approving a communique for the G20 leaders.
The communique has received the highest-ever number of endorsements to date for any U20 document and more than twice the number of endorsements for any previous communiques, organisers said on Monday.
The communiqué has been drafted as an action agenda for the six priorities identified collectively by U20 cities. These priorities include encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture and economy, ensuring water security, catalysing digital urban futures, and reinventing frameworks for urban planning and governance.
The communique is aligned with the G20 theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, or One Earth, One Family, One Future.
“Cities are going to be central to achieving various global goals related to sustainability, inclusivity and climate resilience,” said Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, while addressing the gathering on Saturday.
The minister shared his views on the power of the ‘urban constituency’ and the challenges of global development would have to be addressed through cities as agents of change. He reiterated that the six priorities identified by the communique would be central to our collective survival in the future.
He spoke about nine areas that cities should focus on, to work towards a sustainable future: strengthen local governance; plan beyond traditional boundaries; push for financially self-reliant cities; foster a culture of innovation; harness the power of data and technology; shift from regulation to facilitation; focus on impacts not outcome; put citizens at the heart of urban policy; and leverage local culture and economy.
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, at the handover session, emphasised the role of cities in shaping a sustainable and prosperous future. He highlighted the importance of the summit, especially at a time when one-third of the world is facing recession and the impacts of the climate change crisis in addition to geopolitical issues.
He applauded the efforts under U20 and specifically stressed the need for adequate infrastructure finance for cities of the future and better urban planning to resolve multiple urban issues. Further, Kant spoke of the alignment of U20 with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision for India’s G20 presidency, that it will be “inclusive, decisive and action-oriented”.