LEDS Action Planning by Sub-National Authorities: Outcomes of LEDS Interventions in Indian and Indonesian Cities and Linkages to National Policy

India and Indonesia, two of the emerging countries in Asia, are witnessing significant pressure of managing urban and economic growth along with the growing challenges of climate change impacts. Both countries have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in October 2015. This case study looked at the experiences of three cities from India (Rajkot, Thane, Panj) and two cities from Indonesia (Bogor and Balikpapan) in the development of their respective comprehensive LEDS and action plans under the project, “Promoting Low Emission Urban Development Strategies in Emerging Economy Countries (Urban LEDS).” The project aimed at enhancing the transition to low emission urban development in emerging economy countries by offering the selected local governments in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa a comprehensive methodological framework (GreenClimateCities) to integrate low-carbon strategies into all sectors of urban planning and development. The study found that the entire exercise of LEDS planning has reduced GHG emissions and significantly enhanced the inter-departmental coordination, and capacity of the stakeholders on the identification, prioritization and implementation of low emission oriented projects.