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Context:  The inception meeting of the sixth U20 cycle is the City Sherpa meeting, which was inaugurated in Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is the chair city for U20.

Details:

About:

• Urban 20 (U20) is an Engagement Group under the G20, which brings together city sherpas, mayors and representatives from cities in G20 countries, to collectively deliberate key urban challenges and inform the G20 negotiations.
• Following are the key takeaways of the U20 City Sherpa Meeting:

• The U20 Inception meeting was attended by more than 200 participants from across the world.
• The City Sherpa Meeting was attended by representatives and Sherpas from 42 cities, which is the largest recorded participation from U20 participating and observer cities since the inception of the U20 Engagement Group.
• The City Sherpa of Ahmedabad presented six priority areas proposed by the Chair city and also discussed the zero-draft communique. He acknowledged the work done under previous U20 cycles and stressed on the need to move from ‘intention to action’ during the 6^th cycle.
• The priority areas are (i) Encouraging environmentally responsible behaviors, (ii) Ensuring water security, (iii) Accelerating climate finance, (iv) Championing ‘local’ identity, (v) Reinventing frameworks for urban governance and planning, and (vi) Catalysing digital urban futures.

Need for U20:

• More than half the world lives in urban areas presently, and cities will be home to about two thirds of the world population by 2050.
• As primary engines of growth across the globe, the influence cities can exert on the global development agenda is obvious.
• However, with millions of people living in dense urban areas, cities are also most vulnerable to impacts of climate change, disasters, environmental degradation, resources depletion, chaotic growth and socio-economic inequality.
• It is therefore the right time to utilize the potential of urbanisation as a catalyst to drive the ‘right’ kind of growth that is sustainable, inclusive and equitable.

Background:

• U20 is a group of cities from the G20 countries and was first convened in Buenos Aires in 2018.
• Previous U20 cycles have brought forth the unique perspective of cities to the G20 and foregrounded vital urban issues through their purpose-driven Communiques drafted collectively by the participating cities.
• The past Communiques have explicitly underscored the urgency with which the cities have to act to ensure sustainable environments, healthy communities and social cohesion. The most recent Jakarta Communique called for stronger post-pandemic recovery that is sustainable, resilient and just. The present U20 cycle will build upon the legacy created by the preceding presidencies.

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