How to tackle complexity in urban climate resilience? Negotiating climate science, adaptation and multi-level governance in India

addition to training, regular monitoring of mechanisms within these policies/ plans will help officers analyze resilience actions, evaluate their progress and impacts to the society. The recommendations for making resilient cities include multiple but specific initiatives embracing structural, green and regulatory measures cutting across diverse policy sectors. For instance, for heat waves cities can opt for cool/ green roofs, implement conjunctive water man- agement, regulate groundwater extraction, use solar energy where possible, switch to LED lighting, design neighbourhoods to allow air flow without obstruction, regulate housing densi- ties, decentralize health facilities and make them accessible to all. Likewise, for heavy rainfall and flooding, improve drainage network, remove encroachment on drains, build houses on stilts where required, elevate entrances to buildings, harvest rainwater to reduce peak flow, provide adequate open and green spaces to absorb water and reduce runoff. For systematic internalization of these into urban policies, cities should prepare City Resilience Strategy docu- ments, set up new institutions or departments in local bodies to deal with climate change, and educate and involve people in the managing climate impacts. Negotiating climate governance also requires reliable financial and monitoring mechanisms to be put in place. In absence of any designated and reliable climate financial framework at national and state level, governments need to commit special funds for urban resilience activities in ongo-

ing government programmes like NAPCC, SCM, AMRUT, SBM, etc. The funds would be linked to measureable outcomes in state programmes under SAPCC and that of the line departments in urban, water, health, energy, sewerage sectors. However, at the local level, funding for climate resil- ience has to be mobilized through state grants, their annual budgets and planned projects. As an example of a case where climate change has been effectively internalized is the city of Surat where the municipal corporation has added a new head of ‘Climate Change’ into their municipal budget. 5.2. Research and policy imperatives With complex and disparate knowledge on future climate scenarios, adaptation measures and governance capacities at the local level in developing countries, this research started with a Table 3. Entry points for negotiating resilience at various levels of governance. Policies Institutions and stakeholders National Level Climate: National Missions as part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (upon updating) Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Parliament’s Standing committee on urban development, National Institute of Urban Affairs, other national level research and policy institutes Urban: Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Sectoral policies in water, transport, buildings, energy, etc. Sub-national/ State Level State Agendas and Action Plans on Climate Change Regional Centres for Urban and Environmental

Studies, State line departments, State line departments/ ministries of land, urban development and environment. State relevant research institutes and universities Sectoral Policies State Five Year Plans City Level Master Plans Urban local bodies (municipal organizations), development authorities, departments concerned with land, housing, slums, transport, energy, water, public health, storm water, sewerage, environment, solid waste, etc. Local educational institutions, private sector, philanthropies and non-governmental organizations. City Development Plans Disaster Management and Resilience Plans City Mobility Plans City Sanitation Plans https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253904.t003 PLOS ONE Negotiating complexity of climate science, adaptation and multi-level governance in urban resilience PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253904 July 1, 2021 13 / 21