Rajkot: The global warming challenge will be an opportunity for investment in urban areas including Saurashtra’s financial hub Rajkot, according to International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member organization of the World Bank Group. The report on the six specially chosen cities from across the world — Rajkot being one of them — was released on November 30. IFC has claimed that by 2030 Rajkot will attract investment to the tune of $4 billion investment, of the total $2.5 trillion, which is the estimated potential for South Asia region. The investment will be in six key sectors related to climate change, said the report.The six cities were selected from six regions of the world like Jakarta from East Asia and Pacific region, Rajkot from South Asia, Belgrade from Europe and Central Asia, Amman from Middle East and North Africa, Nairobi from Sub Saharan Africa and Mexico City from Latin America.The IFC report stated that of the $4 billion investment opportunity, half of it, that is, $2billion will be in green buildings, followed by $1.2billion in public transport and electric vehicles, $220 million in urban water sector, $130 million in renewable energy and $50 million in waste management.The report estimates that as Rajkot moves towards becoming a smart city it is likely to witness continuous growth in construction. It is stated that Rajkot has committed to reduce it’s emission by 25% from 2012-13 levels by 2020. Currently, Rajkot’s 33% emission comes from residential buildings and 27% from the transport sector.“There is a great urgency to address climate change — we must take meaningful action now,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou in a statement. “Cities are the next frontier for climate investments, with trillions of dollars in untapped opportunities. To deliver on the promise of climate-smart cities, the public sector needs to enact reforms that are aimed at attracting more private sector financing.”When asked on what basis Rajkot was chosen, IFC in a written reply told TOI: “We have not done a competitive analysis of each city. But have taken a city which had a population of over 1 million and had all the datasets available that we were looking for.”

Stay updated with all the Latest Rajkot headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.