24 November 2022 | Coordination meetings among the GCoM Southeast Asia partners are held periodically and used as an important platform for discussion to support cities and local governments in the region in combating climate change and moving towards a low-emission and resilient society.
The Coordination Meeting held on 24 November 2022 was attended by several GCoM partners’ representatives, including the European Union, CDP, CityNet, GCoM Asia Project, GCoM Global, and ICLEI Southeast Asia. Continuing previous coordination meetings, this meeting shared the progress of partners’ initiatives and discussed upcoming events. The meeting was organised by UCLG ASPAC as the host of the GCoM Southeast Asia Secretariat.
Mayor Abigail Binay (Mayor of Makati, the Philippines), as the GCoM Board Member for Southeast Asia, explained the importance of addressing the climate emergencies and driving sustainable development to encounter the current urban vulnerability. She highlighted the outcomes of the COP27 agenda, particularly the funding for climate actions at the city level. She further emphasised the main problem that needs to be focused on, such as the provision of capacity and guidelines for local governments and vulnerable communities to access available funding.
Following the statements from Mayor Abigail, the Secretary-General of UCLG ASPAC, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, acknowledged and agreed that the organisations involved should provide support to subnational or local governments on access to funding and development of bankable projects/programmes.
The meeting then proceeded to a sharing session with each partner. UCLG ASPAC, as the host of GCoM Southeast Asia Secretariat, updated the participants on several programmes conducted that focused on six aspects: Helpdesk, Communications and Visibility, Coordination & Networking, Capacity Building, Climate Action Plan (CAP) Development, and Climate Finance. These programmes were successfully completed and involved local governments and partners, such as Jakarta Capital City Government and C40 in organising the “Capacity Building Workshop on Climate Change for Cities in Southeast Asia: Green and Low-Carbon Initiatives-Practices for Climate Resilience” on 28-29 September 2022 in Jakarta.
The GCoM Asia Project highlighted the significant increase of GCoM signatories in Southeast Asia. In particular, it successfully reached 21 cities by the end of 2022, which started off with only 11 cities at the beginning of the year. They updated the progress of each programme focusing on four aspects: Strengthening Asian Cities’ Capacity, Reach-out & Inclusivity, Vertical Integration, and Sustainability of the Actions. Those initiatives involve partners from Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, and others in the process. On the last note, they reminded all partners about the reporting status of GCoM signatories in the region, which needs to be completed by March 2023 in order to increase the number of GCoM badge compliance.
The GCoM Global Secretariat the updated that the GCoM Open House would be conducted from 23-27 January 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.
CPD shared that the CDP-ICLEI Track reporting period will end on 7 December 2022. As of now, there are over 1,000 cities globally that have reported through the platform. In Southeast Asia, 20 out of 31 cities that have finished reporting are GCoM cities: 10 from Indonesia, 4 from Malaysia, 12 from the Philippines, 1 from Singapore, 1 from Thailand, and 3 from Vietnam. CPD also mentioned that they have recently launched their brand-new assessment (scoring) programme, called “A list”. It includes 21 cities in Asia and the Pacific and 122 cities across the globe.
Complementing the other partners, ICLEI Southeast Asia shared its progress regarding the reporting assistance webinar and the preparation of the event, namely GPC Supplemental Guidance on Forest and Trees in 2023. In the reporting assistance webinar, ICLEI SEAS reached more than 50 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand and encouraged as well as assisted them to report before the deadline (7 December 2022). Furthermore, ICLEI SEAS is also preparing a webinar on energy in January or February 2023. This event will discuss 3 points: Renewable energy and Energy Efficiency, Conservation Preparation, and Mobility.
Finally, the meeting highlighted the upcoming events and initiatives of partners. The agenda is as follows:
- 23-27 January 2023: GCoM Open House in Brussels, Belgium
- 29-31 March 2023: Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in Bangkok, Thailand
- 12-13 April 2023: UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting in Kathmandu/Dhulikhel, Nepal
- 23-26 October 2023: Asia-Pacific Urban Forum in Suwon, South Korea
- November 2023: UCLG ASPAC Congress in Yiwu, China
The meeting benefited all partners to share the technical support and potential collaboration for better and more collaborative programmes and initiatives in reducing the impact of climate change. The next coordination call between GCoM and all partners will be conducted in May 2023.
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Written by: Awani Yamora Masta
Reviewed by: Rona Ikram Putri
