Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue for Southeast Asian Cities on the Rise (3) -Partnership to increase cities’ readiness for full implementation of the Paris Agreement and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Organiser
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC)
Event Overview
In mega cities in Southeast Asian countries, accelerated efforts to enhance various efforts for low carbon and resilient cities, and preparation for a full implementation of the Paris Agreement and achieving the SDGs are remarkable trend. The Side Event invited participants to discuss how cities could effectively contribute to implementation of national-level plans, such as NDC and NAP. And further, the Side Event explored effective approaches to develop sustainable urban development with strategic perspectives, while achieving such policy goals. The series of events are continuous efforts to share lessons learned from development of cities’ climate actions and providing participants feedbacks to actions in the field. The 3rd event was organized, following to the 1st session at the UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn, Germany in November, 2017 and the 2nd session at the GEF Assembly in Danang, Viet Nam, in June 2018.
Speaker
- Yoshiaki Harada, Minister, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
- Hiromichi Murakami, Senior Director, Office for Climate Change, Japan International Cooperation Agency
- Haruna Suenaga, Technical Advisor, Office for Climate Change, Japan International Cooperation Agency
- Thawachai Saengkhamsuk, Director, Department of Strategy, Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization/Steering Committee on the Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change 2013-2023
- Koji Fukuda, Chief Technical Advisor, Japan International Cooperation Agency Presentation (PDF, 3MB)
- Makoto Kato, Principal Researcher, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan Presentation (PDF, 2.4MB)
- Yukimitsu Isegawa, Executive Director, City of Fukuoka Presentation (PDF, 5.2MB)
- Masato Kawanishi, Senior Advisor, Japan International Cooperation Agency
Event Materials
Event Summary
Followed by resource presentations by experts, the following guiding guestions were posed to panelists
- In the context of achieving goals which have been set at the national level (e.g. NDC and SDGs), what are roles to be played by cities/local governments?
- To further promote city-level climate and SD actions, what kind of efforts/arrangements are effective, in particular, in the Southeast Asia Region?
The Panelists emphasized that cities should advance their efforts to formulate and implement policies and measures in concrete terms, with reference to national policy frameworks being developed by the Central Governments, such as a NDC Roadmap and a National Adaptation Plan(NAP). Also, some panelists highlighted the advantage of cities, which has a close access to dialogues with stakeholders such as citizens and the private sector. For promoting city-level climate and SD actions, other panelists evaluated the recent effrots under the city-to-city cooperation. This includes a case of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the City of Yokohama (bilateral cooperation between SEA city and Japanese city) and Fukuoka's "Asian Paficic City Sumit"(a forum for city mayors directly participate in debates). Also, one suggested an idea of a cooperation format, through which SEA cities may share experiences and lessons learned.
Message
At the outset, H.E. Mr. Yoshiaki Harada joined in the event deliver his words of encouragement that he highly evaluated cooperation and transfer of technologies by the City of Fukuoka in Asian countries, and he mentioned he would like to support joint efforts by Japanese and Southeast Asian cities to address climate change and SDGs. Also, during the event, video presentations were made on the results of "the 12th Asian Pacific City Sumit in Fukuoka" and "the Bangkok Master Plan on Climate Change 2013-2023".
