Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me immense pleasure to be speaking here today at
sustainable cities: building a UK partnership case for Karnataka.
I have been in Bengaluru for over a year now and I now know why
it is called the start up city, innovation city and known by many
other names.
In spite of the multiple names, the strength of a city is its
people. I won’t cite statistics in a room full of experts. We are
aware that cities are growing at much faster rate due to inflow
of people in search of better jobs, amenities and a better
standard of living. But at the same time, this inflow is putting
pressure on the available resources and that is why urban
planning becomes crucial.
The choices that are made today on building designs, waste
management, water, energy and food systems, urban ecosystem
management, transportation, infrastructure development and
retrofitting will have critical implication for future urban
habitats.
It is therefore vital to have an integrated and innovative
approach as we try to future-proof our cities in the light of
changing climate, rising energy prices, increasing demand for
water and space.
The UK supports the ‘Make in India’ campaign, as does UK
business. The UK is also committed to supporting India’s goal of
‘100 Smart Cities’. Karnataka is developing Mangaluru,
Shivamogga, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, Davangere and
also Bengaluru as smart cities.
UK companies are keen to support India across the entire span of
the four-pillar smart city framework/sustainable urbanisation. We
have expertise in infrastructure – from smart transport and
mobility to water and waste management – in digital –
particularly in fin tech and e-commerce – and in design,
professional services, healthcare and e-governance.
2012 London Olympics is a good example of developing East London
on the principles of sustainable urbanisation where the Olympic
Park was created on once contaminated industrial land. 240
electric and hybrid cars were used, food packaging used was
compostable, sourcing of materials for various structures was
sustainable, and water harvesting, natural lighting lightweight
building materials were used. Post the games the waste generated
was waste was diverted from landfill, with 62% of that waste
being reused, recycled or composted.
- UK’s capabilities lie in urban design, planning and
architecture
- UK construction and civil engineering firms lead major urban
infrastructure developments worldwide
- there are now over 3,384 low carbon emission buses in the UK.
1,500 hybrid electric buses and 15 pure electric buses also run
on London roads. Around 3,000 buses are expected to run on
biodiesel, renewable biodiesel from waste products, including
cooking oil and tallow from the meat processing trade
- 3.6 GW is generated from off-shore wind, more than anywhere
else in the world
- UK is the first developed economy to commit to phase out
unabated coal by 2025
- UK remains committed to tackling climate change at home and
supporting developing nations to deliver their own climate change
goals
Sustainability requires holistic consideration of social,
economic and environmental dimensions of urban challenges to
develop solutions that meet future needs.
I look forward to hearing your views on sustainable solutions to
developing sustainable cities in India.
