Ranchi: State Urban Development Agency (SUDA), an arm of the urban development department, will establish a State Climate Centre for Cities (S-C3) in the state. It will be set up as part of the Centre’s ‘City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0’ (CITIIS 2.0) programme.Suraj Kumar, director of SUDA, said, “The core purpose of the S-C3 is to address escalating climate change challenges within cities and actively foster sustainable urban development, along with advancing a circular economy that prioritises waste management.”As a part of the groundwork, SUDA on Saturday opened the recruitment process for four key positions — a chief climate action officer (CCAO), an environment/climate specialist, an environmental and social officer, and a gender expert.The role of the CCAO will span planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating all programme activities. Key responsibilities include managing urban climate data, assessing risks and impacts, and co-developing adaptation and resilience plans with govt and various stakeholders. The mandate also covers policy support, public outreach and capacity building through training and technical assistance for city officials and planners.Officials said the S-C3 will have its head office in Ranchi under the aegis of SUDA. It will also have dedicated nodal departments stationed at all nine urban local bodies (ULBs) in Ranchi, Adityapur, Mango, Chas, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Hazaribag, Giridih and Medininagar.At the municipal level, a dedicated municipal climate action department will be established to execute these initiatives. This department will be headed by the respective municipal commissioner, who will have a city climate action officer, a health officer and various subject matter experts reporting directly to him or her to ensure smooth implementation.“The centre aims to develop and implement strategies, policies and initiatives that successfully mitigate the impact of climate change, enhance overall resilience, and promote environmentally responsible and sustainable practices across all urban areas in the state,” said an official.To expand the scope of urban climate action, the centre will collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including govt departments and agencies, academia, research institutions, think tanks and international agencies.