Webinar on Innovative Experiences of Cities on Environmental Sustainability & Climate Action through SSTC, 10 November 2021

By November 3, 2021 January 6th, 2022 Cities Clusters, Cities Clusters - Waste, Cities Project, Events

Background

Rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms have heavy impacts on the infrastructure, livelihoods, and human health in cities. Cities around the world are spearheading innovative solutions in many areas of low-emission climate-resilient development and environmental sustainability, including energy, transportation, water and waste management and disaster risk reduction. Cities are also increasingly joining forces and learning from each other to collectively strengthen environmental protection.

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Click here to watch the Promo Video on Bilibili

Click here for the recording in Chinese

Download Summary of Discussion from here

You can also watch the recording on Bilibili in English and Chinese. Video recording of the complete event along with Chinese audio will be available on 9 December 2021 (7 am EDT) on Fengzhibo & Fengshow

Video recording of the complete event along with Chinese audio will be available on 9 December 2021 (7 am EDT) on Fengzhibo & Fengshow

The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) promotes, coordinates, and supports South-South and triangular cooperation globally. Through the South-South Cities Project, UNOSSC fosters city-to-city partnerships, the exchange of innovative approaches, and with the support of UN system agencies, the development of pilot projects in cities in developing countries. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. Through its Waste Wise Cities programme, UN-Habitat inspires, catalyzes, guides, monitors, enables, and mobilizes support for local governments to work towards improved waste management, resource efficiency and sustainable cities and communities,

From May to June 2021, UNOSSC and UN-Habitat opened a joint call for submissions, inviting city stakeholders to share their innovative experiences on environmental sustainability and climate change. Twelve cases have been selected and included in the report “Innovative Experiences of Cities on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action through South-South and Triangular Cooperation” to be launched at the webinar.  

In the context of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) that took place between 31 October-12 November 2021, the publication is was presented in the webinar aimed to provide useful insights on practical and effective solutions to inspire, replicate and upscale South-South and triangular cooperation at the sub-national level towards addressing climate change and fostering environmental sustainability in different contexts.

At the webinar, UNOSSC presented the South-South Cities Clusters hosted on the South-South Galaxy platform, an interactive space that aims to bring together networks of cities, institutions, and experts to facilitate horizontal cooperation and exchange. South-South Cities Clusters enables sub-national government representatives and other development actors to engage in thematic South-South and triangular cooperation capacity development and knowledge sharing activities for mutual benefit. There are currently four South-South Cities Clusters related to environmental sustainability and climate action. Also at the event, UNOSSC and UN-Habitat launched the Cities Cluster on Waste Management, Green Cities & Renewable Energy and invite all cities to join. More information at https://www.southsouth-galaxy.org/cities-clusters/

Agenda

1. Opening remarks

  • Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Deputy Director, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
  • Mr. Rafael Tuts, Director, Global Solutions Division, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (Video message)

2. Panel presentations

Moderatos: Nele Kapp, Associate Officer, Urban Basic Services Section, UN-Habitat

  • Mr. Moritz Weigel, Senior Research and Programme Advisor, UNOSSC: Introducing the report “Innovative Experiences of Cities on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action through SSTC” 
  • Mr. Francisco Lopez, Country Programme Manager, UNOPS/Cities Alliance: Experience of Monrovia, Liberia on increasing climate-resilience in informal coastal communities through infrastructure development.
  • Chirag Mahajan, Senior Manager for Strategic Partnerships & Communications, Waste Warriors Society: Experience of Dehradun, India: Spearheading community-driven waste management.
  • Wei Chen, General Manager of Everbright Environmental Energy (Can Tho) Limited: Experience of Can Tho, Viet Nam on Waste-to-energy project.
  • Mr. Francisco José Moura de Castro, Special Advisor for Sustainability, Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil: Experience of Latin American Cities on shifting to zero-emission buses.
  • Mr. Ignacio Iglesias, Municipality of Tandil, Argentina: Experience of Tandil, Argentina in promoting agroecology for sustainable food systems.
  • Ms. Francini Acuña, UNDP Costa Rica: Experience of San José, Costa Rica on Improved urban planning through monitoring of land use and land cover change.

3. Q&A and discussion

4. Video presentation of South-South Cities Clusters 

5. Closing remarks

  •  Xiaojun Grace Wang, Deputy Director, UNOSSC