26 October 2021 | UCLG ASPAC, as the host of Global Covenant of Mayors Southeast Asia (GCoM SEA), convened partners through the second Coordination Call this year. The objective is to consolidate the actions and work plan of partners under the GCoM framework within the Southeast Asia region for the smooth implementation of GCoM Asia’s project in Southeast Asia.
Opening the meeting was Mayor Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay of Makati, the GCoM Board Member for Southeast Asia. Appointed in July 2021, Mayor Binay helps advocate the Southeast Asia region towards the ambitious emissions reduction goals and serve as a critical voice towards meeting the goals of the UNFCCC Climate Champion Race to Resilience campaign. Makati is an active member of UCLG ASPAC. In 2017, Makati actively took part and hosted a Disaster Risk Reduction training on Scorecard organised by UCLG ASPAC in collaboration with UNDRR. Her appointment is due to her active role in the region. In the last five years, Mayor Binay has led and implemented disaster risk reduction and management, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development efforts in her city. Further, Makati also hosted the UCLG ASPAC Council Meeting in 2019 focusing on the role of local governments in addressing disaster risks, to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM).
The meeting was attended by more than 20 representatives from GCoM SEA partners, including European Union Delegation (EUD), CDP, ICLEI Southeast Asia, GCoM Global Secretariat, GCoM Asia Project, Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and UN-Habitat. Michel Mouchiroud, EUD to Thailand, mentioned that the GCoM has taken a political dimension for the EU through its work in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia. “Southeast Asia is the centre of this strategy with an important goal of supporting close to 200 cities to advance on the climate actions through the GCoM,” he said.
The GCoM SEA Secretariat presented the highlights of the Secretariat’s activity since the first Coordination Call conducted in July 2021, including engagement of 13 cities in the Cities Race to Zero campaign (pledge signing to ensure global warming less than 1.5 degrees), assisting cities in preparing Expression of Interest (EoI) for Gap Fund, mapping of pilot cities and cities for receiving capacity building programme developed by GCoM SEA, and co-organising climate-related events.
CDP and ICLEI informed that there have been 1000 cities reporting to the CDP-ICLEI platform this year for the first time, of which 29 are from GCoM cities from Southeast Asia. These cities are now being validated and will be followed up for GCoM badges. JRC shared that they were finalising the Guidebook on Climate Action Plans for Malaysia and Indonesia. As for the GCoM Global, they have been finalising the 2021-2025 Strategic Workplan to set the mission for the GCoM alliance throughout the world.
Mayor Binay closed off the meeting with an optimistic note, “The beauty of this Coordination Meeting is that we are coming from different organisations, but our goals are the same; what we want to achieve are the same.”
In line with this, UCLG ASPAC Secretary-General Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi emphasised that “We are in better consolidation now as we (UCLG ASPAC) have the APLG, Asia Pacific Local Government body with members from different organisations. All are working together because one organisation cannot reach thousands of cities alone. We need strong collaboration and partnerships.”
The next GCoM SEA Partners Coordination Meeting is scheduled for February 2022.
