November 24, 2022 | UCLG ASPAC, the host of the GCoM SEA Secretariat, took part in the year-end coordination meeting among the GCoM Southeast Asia partners , including the European Union (EU), CDP, CityNet, GCoM Asia Project, GCoM Global, and ICLEI Southeast Asia. The meeting shared new initiatives and upcoming events.
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 COP27, particularly the funding for climate actions at the city level. She further emphasised the main challenge that requires attention, such as the provision of capacity building and guidelines for local governments and access to access available funding for vulnerable communities.
Agreeing to that, the Secretary-General of UCLG ASPAC, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, also acknowledged and seconded that organisations involved should have sub-national or local governments to supervise this issue.
UCLG ASPAC, as the host of GCoM Southeast Asia Secretariat, proceeded with updates on activities conducted including Helpdesk for cities, Communications and Visibility, Coordination and Networking, Capacity Building events, Climate Action Plan (CAP) Development, and Climate Finance. Including was the organisation of “Capacity Building Workshop on Climate Change for Cities in Southeast Asia: Green and Low-Carbon Initiatives-Practices for Climate Resilience” on September 28-29, 2022, involving the local government of Jakarta and C40.
The GCoM Asia Project, funded by the European Union, highlighted the significant increase of GCoM signatories in Southeast Asia. Malaysia successfully reached 21 cities by the end of 2022, which started with only 11 cities at the beginning of the year. They shared that the progress is the result of four aspects: Strengthening Asian Cities’ Capacity, Reach-out and 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 occasion, they also sent reminders to all partners on the reporting status of GCoM signatories in the region, which needs to be completed by March 2023 to increase the number of GCoM badge compliance.
The GCoM Global Secretariat updated that the GCoM Open House will be conducted around 23-27 January 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, with the Common Reporting Framework (CRF) Academy as the main agenda, including the development of a better mechanism for Technical Working Groups (TWG). This event will provide a huge learning opportunity for GCoM Regional Secretariats around the world to share their experience in facilitating signatory cities to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in parallel with the Paris Agreement.
CDP shared that currently, there are over 1,000 cities globally that have reported through the CDP-ICLEI Track 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 Pacific and 122 cities across the globe.
ICLEI Southeast Asia shared the reporting assistance webinar and the preparation of GPC Supplemental Guidance on Forest and Trees in 2023. In the reporting assistance webinar, ICLEI SEAS reached out to more than 50 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. It also assisted those cities in delivering their report. Furthermore, ICLEI SEAS is preparing a webinar on energy early next year which will discuss three points: Renewable energy and Energy Efficiency, Conservation Preparation, and Mobility.
The meeting also highlighted the upcoming events, including:
- GCoM Open House in Brussels, Belgium (January 2023)
- Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in Bangkok, Thailand (March 2023)
- UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting in Dhulikhel, Nepal (April 2023)
- Asia-Pacific Urban Forum in Suwon, South Korea (October 2023)
- UCLG ASPAC Congress in Yiwu, China (November 2023)
The Coordination Meeting concluded the overall activities for the year 2022 and the next coordination call between GCoM and all partners will be conducted in March 2023.
