Urban Resilience
Overview
Our Urban Transition Programme is dedicated to supporting cities in building resilience to extreme heat while advancing sustainable and climate-smart cooling solutions. The programme provides research, knowledge, and capacity-building support to governments and local bodies, helping them adopt integrated, inclusive, and long-term strategies for urban heat management.
A cornerstone of this work is the development and implementation of Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plans (IHCAPs). Unlike conventional fragmented approaches, IHCAPs provide a comprehensive framework that brings together heat action, urban cooling, building efficiency, and urban greening under a single plan. In partnership with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the Singapore-ETH Centre, iFOREST developed India’s first IHCAP for Bhubaneswar. The plan quantified the economic losses caused by extreme heat, identified priority interventions, and outlined a roadmap for building a heat-resilient and liveable city. The programme is now working to institutionalize the IHCAP framework within national and state policies and plans.
In addition, iFOREST promotes sustainable cooling solutions through research and policy development. We are strengthening Lifecycle Refrigerant Management (LRM) through field surveys, policy research, regulatory design, and stronger compliance mechanisms, including Extended Producer Responsibility. Our work also promotes the use of natural refrigerants and the adoption of next-generation technologies such as centralized cooling and non-vapour compression systems.
