Coimbatore is likely to be a part of an international effort to build sustainable, low carbon cities, if things go as planned by ICLEI, an NGO, and the British High Commission.

The project aims at encouraging local governments to develop State-level guidelines and leverage international and national funds for such projects.

According to sources in the Coimbatore Corporation, ICLEI, which is already working with the Corporation, has proposed the scheme and the Corporation is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding to take up the project.

Based on the project, ICLEI and the British High Commission will help develop State-level urban low carbon guidelines for Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the two states that will implement the project.

In the two states, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli and Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota and Jodhpur, will be the cities that will implement the project.

The policy paper prepared says that in addition to developing the guidelines and exploring the possibility of finance, the project also aims at developing an India-specific green house gas protocol, a monitoring, reporting and verification mechanism for carbon emission in cities. And also an information dissemination mechanism to raise awareness among stakeholders on use of clean technologies.

The policy paper prepared in this context says that there has been a need to develop low carbon energy policies because there are states that are more vulnerable to climate change due to their location, the lack of expertise and climate policies.

It also says that in the course of interactions the ICLEI members had had with a number of states, they have found Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan better prepared and more aware and well-equipped to implement the project.

The successful formulation of urban low carbon policies at the state-level will propel other Indian states and cities to follow, the papers notes.