Rajkot bags National Earth Hour Capital 2016 title
RAJKOT: Rajkot has been declared the National Earth Hour Capital 2016 in WWF's global Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) for its strong commitments across key areas, backed by strong low carbon actions and community engagement. Rajkot now joins the ranks of previous National Earth Hour capitals that include Thane, Coimbatore and New Delhi.
The WWF annual EHCC is a year-long competition that highlights and rewards cities for their substantial long-term efforts to combat climate change. Worldwide, cities that participate are recognized for their efforts in spreading the global movement to create more sustainable and resilient cities, and compete for the title of Global Earth Hour Capital. 125 cities from 21 countries participated in this year's challenge, of which 11 were Indian cities. Pune and Coimbatore were declared finalists from India, along with Rajkot.
After an initial evaluation by WWF and global consultancy Accenture, a 17 member expert jury comprising leaders in urban sustainability appointed one city from each country as the National Earth Hour Capital and a Global Earth Hour Capital. While Paris has emerged as the Global Earth Hour Capital for this year, Rajkot was also in the run-up to bag the title alongside 17 National Earth Hour Capitals from across the world.
Rajkot was lauded for its strategies to drive sustainability efforts with focus on low carbon development, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Its strong focus on community engagement for sustainable development and adoption of renewable energy are among the key reasons for the city's win. Some of the inspiring and noteworthy initiatives rolled out by Rajkot include the SMART Society Scheme - a scheme that works towards integrating community efforts for zero waste, emission reduction, energy saving and water management through a competition among housing societies. The Bus Rapid Transport System - the first phase of which has already been completed, energy efficient street lighting, innovative waste management practices and collaboration with regional and international programs are among the other significant initiatives.
Rajkot was also ranked 7th in the top 20 cleanest cities in the results of Clean India Mission survey by Government of India announced in January this year. It is also one of the solar cities of India.
The WWF annual EHCC is a year-long competition that highlights and rewards cities for their substantial long-term efforts to combat climate change. Worldwide, cities that participate are recognized for their efforts in spreading the global movement to create more sustainable and resilient cities, and compete for the title of Global Earth Hour Capital. 125 cities from 21 countries participated in this year's challenge, of which 11 were Indian cities. Pune and Coimbatore were declared finalists from India, along with Rajkot.
After an initial evaluation by WWF and global consultancy Accenture, a 17 member expert jury comprising leaders in urban sustainability appointed one city from each country as the National Earth Hour Capital and a Global Earth Hour Capital. While Paris has emerged as the Global Earth Hour Capital for this year, Rajkot was also in the run-up to bag the title alongside 17 National Earth Hour Capitals from across the world.
Rajkot was lauded for its strategies to drive sustainability efforts with focus on low carbon development, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Its strong focus on community engagement for sustainable development and adoption of renewable energy are among the key reasons for the city's win. Some of the inspiring and noteworthy initiatives rolled out by Rajkot include the SMART Society Scheme - a scheme that works towards integrating community efforts for zero waste, emission reduction, energy saving and water management through a competition among housing societies. The Bus Rapid Transport System - the first phase of which has already been completed, energy efficient street lighting, innovative waste management practices and collaboration with regional and international programs are among the other significant initiatives.
Rajkot was also ranked 7th in the top 20 cleanest cities in the results of Clean India Mission survey by Government of India announced in January this year. It is also one of the solar cities of India.
Comments
Post a Comment