BACKGROUND This thematic cluster webinar is a part of International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia & Australasia, which aims to further urban and regional cooperation in the fields of sustainable urban development and innovation between EU and non-EU cities. Within the thematic network “Ecological Transition & Green Deal,” this webinar will narrow in on two main topics related to current global issues.
The effects of climate change are becoming more pronounced around the world. From the unprecedented, deadly flooding in parts of Europe and China, leaving devastation in its wake, to the record heat waves that have caused massive, overwhelming wildfires in Europe, Canada and the U.S, to the unnatural melting of the ice sheets in Greenland and the North, causing the ocean levels to rise.
Considering such disasters, this webinar proposes to encourage in-depth discussion on nature-based solutions to address urban heat islands, and on water retention infrastructure to manage heavy rainfall and flooding risks.
The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.
What is Malaysia’s view on climate change? What are corporate perspectives for net-zero emissions? What does civil society think about climate change and biodiversity loss? This virtual conference will generate new ideas for Malaysia to foster a nature-positive and net-zero economy, with high quality and resilient ecosystem services. Make your voice heard as we prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15).
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Panel 3: Promoting and Developing Sustainable Cities
There is vast scope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by applying circular principles – notably re-use, re-manufacturing and re-cycling – to key sectors such as the built environment. Yet it notes that most federal, state and local governments barely consider circular economy measures in policies aimed at meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to as close as possible to 1.5°C. The lessons learnt from European cities can be shared with our Malaysian cities to bring all countries in alignment to meet the shared goal of keeping temperatures from increasing above 1.5°C
Objective: Educating Malaysian cities on how they may achieve a circular economy, thereby allowing societies to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement on Climate Action and the long term goal of Greenhouse gas emissions reduction
Moderator: Mr. Pablo Gandara, Team Leader for International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia-Australasia
Speaker 1: Ms. Jacqueline Chang, Country Coordinator for IURC Asia-Australasia and Ms. Asih Budiati, Team Leader for Global Covenant of Mayors
Speaker 2: Mr. Carlos Mendes, Director General of Maia Municipality, Portugal
Speaker 3: YBhg Datuk Hj. Rozali Mohamud, Mayor of Seberang Perai
Speaker 4: Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA)
2021年10月16日，由能源互联网国际创新中心举办，四川天府新区管委会、清华四川能源互联网研究院、New Energy Nexus联合承办，IURC-China参与协办的“第三届能源互联网国际创新峰会”将在成都举行。本届峰会聚焦“绿色氢能”、“储能”、“零碳城市电力”、“‘碳中和’投资机遇”四大核心技术，让各层级企业、投资机构、科研院校等创新资源跨界碰撞交流，携手“绿色经济”产业链上各创新技术解决方案企业，共同探索“双碳”目标下低碳转型发展新趋势和经济高质量发展新形态，塑造未来能源互联网产业低碳发展新格局。
Cities, which account for two-thirds of energy consumption and generate 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, play a critical role in global decarbonisation. Since 2020, 733 cities participated in the Race to Zero, a global campaign to commit zero carbon emissions by 2050, and more cities are setting the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 even before the national governments set the zero-carbon target.
At regional and national level, initiatives to encourage and support forerunner cities have been launched/planned, such as European Union’s “100 climate neutral cities by 2030” and “100 leading decarbonisation regions” in the Roadmap for Local Decarbonisation of Japan formulated in June 2021. On the other hand, cities have to make rapid and far-reaching transitions in various aspects to achieve zero-carbon goal, and the task is not easy for many cities.
This webinar organised as a part of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) aims to share how cities try to transform themselves to zero-carbon and discuss how city and regional cooperation can help to help cities to achieve the ambitious goal.
Agenda
Time
Programme
9:30 am (CET)
4:30 pm (JST)
Opening Remarks (EUD)
Michel Mouchiroud, Delegation of the EU to Thailand
9:35 am (CET)
4:35 pm (JST)
Background to the webinar
Prof. Hidefumi Imura, IURC Asia-Australasia
9:40 am (CET)
4:40 pm (JST)
Setting the scene: zero carbon movement- International Trend and multi-governance in Japan
Mr. Togo Uchida, Executive Director, ICLEI-Japan
9:55 am (CET)
4:55 pm (JST)
City Panel – actions, challenges, and opportunities of mutual learning
Mr. Sean Owen, Head of Low Carbon, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, United Kingdom.
Ms. IHARA Yuko, Director for Environmental Policy, Environment Bureau, Osaka City Government, Japan
Mr. Thomas Jacob (*) and Ms. Brigitte Köhnlein(**)
(*) Head of International Projects, Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
(**) Deputy Head, Hamburg Ministry for Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture
Ms. Annika Dalén, Strategic Development and Gender Equality Officer, Municipality of Umeå, Sweden
Mr. Boyd D Jouman, Director – Climate, Energy & Resilient Environments, Borneo Organisation Ltd., Malaysia
Food markets have been among the most affected vendors during the Covid-19 pandemic. These markets have social and cultural importance, as well as holding a lot of potential for sustainability and local economy and innovation.
Together with the Inter-American Development Bank, our International Urban and Regional Development Programme will host a webinar on The Future of Food Markets in Latin America, including some best practices from European IURC Cities Madrid and Rotterdam.
We look forward to welcoming you to the virtual discussion on food markets as key actors to building more resilient cities, urban-rural linkages in the region, and fostering innovation to better connect producers, sellers and consumers.
We will also share international experiences in the management and activation of markets, as well as identify potential partners to provide technical assistance in the coming months so that new projects can be designed.
Join us on Monday, 25 October at 9.00-10.00 AM (Washington DC).
The purpose of the workshop is to foster conversation between the city officials, public health experts and climate experts on their experience with COVID-19 and how this could influence urban policy, innovation, and financing towards resilient and low carbon development. The event will include panel discussions between city officials, experts and the invitees. This conversation will bring to fore the possible synergies between the Climate Change responses and COVID.
This workshop is co-hosted by the Global Centre for Environment and Energy, Ahmedabad University, the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) and the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme of the European Union.
Location: Room 113, School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University (Please note that this is a hybrid event)
In the context of the IURC project, the city coordinators for the selected European and Vietnamese pilot cities are invited to join a kick-off meeting on 28 October 2021, 16:00-17:30 Vietnam / 11:00-12:30 CET.
Agenda
16:00-16:10 Opening remarks by the European Union Delegation to Vietnam
16:10-16:20 Programme introduction and overview of the meeting agenda
16:20-16:40 Introduction of the 2 Vietnamese cities: Da Lat City and Ha Tinh City
16:40-17:00 Introduction of the 2 EU cities: The Stuttgart Regional Association and the Colleffero/Latina Functional Area
