BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave 2026 Report Calls For Cooler Cities, Green Infrastructure And Heat-Resilient Urban Planning In Mumbai

Mumbai: Treating cooling as a priority for economic productivity and recognising heat as a cost to productivity and energy consumption are among the key recommendations of the Summary Report of the BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave 2026, presented to Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on October 8.

BRICS Cities Discuss Urban Challenges

Held in Mumbai in August, the conclave sought to strengthen cooperation among BRICS cities on shared challenges, including sea-level rise in coastal cities, urban heat mitigation, integrated low-carbon transport, housing and AI-enabled urban governance. Representatives from India, China, Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, South Africa, Iran and Malaysia attended the meeting. Think-tank Mumbai First led the initiative.

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At the presentation, the Governor emphasised the need to expand partnerships with BRICS nations to build a sustainable and future-ready Mumbai.

Green Infrastructure To Reduce Heat

With cities experiencing increasingly hot days due to climate change and the built environment, the report recommends integrating heat-resilience measures into urban planning. It calls for scaling up nature-based and blue-green infrastructure beyond parks to include trees, green corridors, lakes and urban forests to reduce temperatures.

The report also advocates climate-responsive building design, including roof insulation and appropriate glazing, while incorporating thermal performance into urban planning. It recommends collaboration among BRICS cities through joint pilot projects and scalable models to strengthen data-driven heat-risk management, localised risk assessments and early-warning systems.

Ahmedabad Shares Cooling Strategy

During a session, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani outlined the city's shift from a heat action plan towards an integrated, citywide cooling strategy. Measures include increasing green cover from 10% in 2021 to 12.5% over five years, providing cooling measures for vulnerable groups, and linking heat preparedness with public health and mobility.

Closer to Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli is exploring tree plantation, the rejuvenation of 40 lakes and passive cooling in public buildings, said Municipal Commissioner Abhinav Goyal.

Mumbai First Highlights City Cooperation

Narinder Nayar, chairman of Mumbai First, said the organisation had convened the first BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave in 2016.

“That gathering was founded on a simple but enduring belief: no city has all the answers, but every city has something to teach and something to learn,” Nayar said, adding that cities would play a major role in shaping the world's future as they confront the consequences of climate change and seek practical, inclusive and sustainable solutions.

Conclave Aims For Lasting Partnerships

Satish Kumar, chief executive officer of Mumbai First, said the conclave was not an end in itself. “The real value of a gathering like this lies in what follows. We hope to build sustained city-to-city engagement through knowledge exchange, comparative research, expert interactions, and opportunities for joint initiatives and pilots. Mumbai has much to learn from other cities, but it also has experiences and solutions worth sharing,” he said.

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As an immediate outcome, a delegation from the Government of St Petersburg will visit Mumbai from January 31 to February 7, 2027, for institutional dialogues, technical exchanges and detailed discussions on urban sustainability.

Five steps to cooler cities

Prioritise cooling: Treat heat as a cost to productivity and energy use.

Expand green cover: Integrate trees, green corridors, lakes and urban forests.

Design cooler buildings: Promote roof insulation, appropriate glazing and thermal efficiency.

Improve heat preparedness: Strengthen local risk mapping, data-driven planning and early-warning systems.

Collaborate across BRICS: Share expertise and develop joint pilot projects for urban cooling.

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