ICLEI South Asia co-ordinated a delegation of 10 city representatives from South Asia to take part in the proceedings at the United Nations Climate Conference, COP 15 at Denmark. The delegation was present, along with local government representatives from around the world, to take part in the Local Government Climate LOUNGE and to address the important role of cities in combating climate change.

The South Asian delegation in the conference comprised 10 city mayors, commissioners and other representatives from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The delegation comprised Rina Shah, Mayor, Bhavnagar, India; M S Rayapati, Mayor, Guntur, India; A N Sharma, Commissioner, Shimla, India; N K Jantre, Commissioner, Thane, India; Kunzang Norbu, Mayor, Phuentsholing, Bhutan; Binod Singh, CEO, Lalitpur, Nepal; Rifai Mohamed Zafarullah, Councillor, Matale, Sri Lanka; A D H Khairuzzaman, Mayor, Rajshahi, Bangladesh; S D Pote, Executive Engineer, Thane, India; P D Urade, Executive Engineer, Nagpur, India; Chetan Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs, India. The delegation was accompanied by Mr Emani Kumar, Kamlesh Pathak, Rituraj Borah and Ravi Ranjan Guru of ICLEI South Asia.



Local Government Climate Lounge meeting on 10 December 2009:

The South Asian delegation participated in a Local Government Climate LOUNGE meeting at the UNFCCC COP venue. The meeting was facilitated by ICLEI and attended by about 40 delegates comprising representatives from the USA, Ghana, South Africa, etc., including the President of ICLEI Mr. David Cadman and Deputy Secretary General - ICLEI Mr. Gino Van Begin.  Engaging in discussion with the other cities, the South Asian Local Government delegation also later presented their cities’ local climate action plans and initiatives.

City Tour of Malmo, Sweden: On the morning of 10 December, the delegation was taken out for a city tour of Malmo around the western harbour and the World Trade Center, which is a state of the art energy efficient building with glass facades.  

ICLEI World Congress 2009 - Connecting leaders From 14 to 18 June 2009, 600 participants from 57 countries gathered in the City of Edmonton in Western Canada for the triennial World Congress of 'ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainabiltity', a global network of 1100 cities working on sustainable development. The program touched upon many areas of urban environmental sustainability, from Climate & Energy to Biodiversity and from Resilience & Adaptation to Water, in large plenaries and small working groups.

ICLEI members witnessed a wide range of global scenarios presented by experts and had a chance to discuss how to respond to the urgency of change in smaller focus groups.  Gathering inputs from these focus groups and other meetings, ICLEI will draft a strategic plan for the next six years in the coming months and submit it for review to ICLEI members for due process.


Other ICLEI highlights and accomplishments included the presentation of ‘ICLEI Asia’; a unit that will serve Asian local governments.  The announcement was presented by all four ICLEI offices in Asia and seen as a positive development by the assembled Council. Ten per cent of ICLEI members are in Asia and make up 40% of the region’s population. The planned international conference that will be held next year in Asia will not only consolidate the growth of ICLEI in that region, but it will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the organization.  Read More

The international conference "Local Renewables 2009" was held in Freiburg, Germany, from 27th – 29th April 2009. It was organised by Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristikund Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. The conference witnessed participants from 34 nations around the globe including representatives from communities, non-profit organisations, the business and industry sectors specializing in energy and urban planning that came together to discuss climate protection and local sustainable energy policies.

The event had an exciting line-up consisting of plenaries and workshops, as well as multiple study tours on innovative sustainable energy solutions as alternatives to fossil fuels – from solar energy to wind, hydro, geothermal and bio-energy options.

Dr. Dinesh Brahmbhatt, IAS, Commissioner - Rajkot Municipal Corporation, presented the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India programme "Development of Solar Cities" at the conference.

This was also a key event in the Local Government Climate Roadmap, promoted by the five largest international local government associations including ICLEI. The Roadmap works for a strong and comprehensive post- 2012 climate regime and draws attention to the crucial role and interest of local governments in climate protection.

ICLEI-South Asia conducted a one and half day International Workshop on Including Clean Technology and Efficiency Measures while Developing Infrastructure Projects for Improved Urban Environment at Coimbatore on 13-14 March 2009. This workshop was aimed to focus on ICLEI South Asia’s initiatives in Indian Cities for improved urban infrastructure including cleaner and greener measures at city level for a livable and clean urban environment.

The workshop was supported by United States – Department of State, and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)-Advisory Services in Environmental Management (ASEM) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and was organised by ICLEI SA in partnership with National Institute of Urban Affairs. It included:

• Launch of Urban Climate Project: Building Clean and Efficient Cities funded under the Asia Pacific Partnership program by the US department of State
• Present the Assessment of the Urban Environment Accords supported by the GTZ India
• Inauguration of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Resource Center for Coimbatore city under the Local Renewables Model Communities Project.
• Dicussions & deleberations on energy status, kyoto protocol, CDM and post 2012 climate negotiations under the Climate Roadmap project supported by British High Commission

The workshop was inaugurated by Ms. Hansa Patel, Executive Committee Member ICLEI SA, Ms. Regina Dube, GTZ ASEM, Mr. Dinesh Brahmbhatt, Commissioner Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Mr. Anshul Mishra, Commissioner Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director ICLEI SA.

There were more than 85 participants in the workshop from various fields including mayors, commissioners and engineers from more than 15 cities, government departments, such as the Tamilnadu Energy Development Agency, Lake Conservation Authority - Bhopal, Institutions like Anna University, ASCI, AIILSG, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Tamilnadu Institute of Urban Studies, PSG college and CIT etc as well as NGOs and private bodies like RAAC, Siruthuli, BCIL and BEST engineers among others. Apart from presentations on specific projects of ICLEI SA, sector specific presentations were made by experts on water, waste water, transportation, solid waste, and housing. Dr. Kevin Rens and Ms. Luann Rudolph from the University of Colorado, Denver presented on the work done by their university students on sustainable urban infrastructure and expressed interest in collaboration with ICLEI-SA and Indian cities in future. Dr. Regina Dube from GTZ ASEM India presented on implementing urban infrastructure projects in Indian cities.

Mr. M Shankarnarayanan, Deputy Advisor, CPHEEO, Ministry of Urban Development appreciated the efforts undertaken by ICLEI SA on the possibilities of energy saving, emissions reduction and CDM potential in municipal projects.

During the workshop, ICLEI SA and GTZ ASEM presented awards to the three best performing cities under the Urban Environmental Accords - A Review of 16 Indian Cities. The Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad received the first prize, Hyderabad the second and Bhopal the third as the top performing cities according to the review conducted last year. It was also suggested that this review be made an annual affair and all cities were encouraged to participate in this process. ICLEI SA also announced its initiative to document good practices in cities for improving urban environment. All cities present were requested to participate in the process and send in information regarding their own good practices. 

The second day of the workshop was combined with the regional/national level workshop on Urban Climate Change Issues under the Roadmap of South Asian Cities and Local Governments for the post 2012 global climate agreement and actions project supported by the British High Commission. Mr. Emani Kumar gave a presentation on  the energy status of a few participating  project cities and highlighted on the Kyoto protocol, CDM and post 2012 climate negotiations. 

On March 14, 2009, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Resource Center for Coimbatore city under the Local Renewables Model Communities Project was inaugurated by the Municipal Commissioner of Coimbatore, Mr. Anshul Mishra.

The presentations at the different sessions at the workshop can be downloaded below:
DAY I
Session I: Issues at the Urban Level

1. About the UCP Project: "Ashish Rao Ghorpade, ICLEI SA"
2. About Urban Projects by Coimbatore: "Mr. S. Palaniswamy, Chairman, CTAG"
3. About Urban projects by Rajkot: "Ms. Alpana Mitra, Rajkot Municipal Corporation"

Session 2: Sector Based Interventions

1. The Water and Waste Water Sector: "Prof.  S. Chary, ASCI, Hyderabad"
2. Drainage and Conservation of Water Bodies: "Dr. Subrata Pani, Scientist, Lake Conservation Authority, Bhopal"

Session 3: Sector Based Interventions

1. Solid waste management: "Mr. U. Bindu Madhav, Independent Expert"
2. Transportation and roads: "Mr. Abhijit Lokre, CEPT"
3. Implementing urban projects: "Dr. Regina Dube, GTZ"

Session 4: The Cross Cutting Approach

1. Residential/Institutional - Community: "Ms. Radha Eshwar, BCIL, Bangalore"
2. Institutional Example of Kovai Medical Center and Hospital: " Dr. U. K. Ananthapadmnabhan, President, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital, Coimbatore"
3. Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Projects at the University of Colorado Denver, USA: "Dr. Kevin Rens and Ms Luann Rudolph, University of Colorado Denver, USA"

Session 5: City Level Commitments

1. Sharing good practices - PEARL: "Prof. Chetan Vaidya, Director, NIUA"
2. The Urban Environment Accords: Bedoshruti Sadhukhan, ICLEI SA

DAY II
Presentations

1. City of Nagpur: "P D Urade, Nagpur Municipal Corporation"
2. Planning Level Interventions for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change: "Prof Ravi Anand, Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad"
3. City of Vadodara: "Subodh Shah, Vadodara Municipal Corporation"
4. City of Bhubaneshwar: "Piyush Rout, CMA, Orissa"

ICLEI South Asia has initiated the Carbon Emission Reduction project through City Level Local Action Plans by integrating Renewable Energy (RE) & Energy Efficiency (EE) measures into city activities funded under the Climate Change and Energy (CCE) programme of British High Commission’s Strategic Programme Fund (SPF).

Under the project an International Workshop on “Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Measures for Indian Local Governments” was jointly organised by ICLEI South Asia, Thane Municipal Corporation and British High Commission on January 20, 2009 at Hotel TipTop Plaza, Thane. The programme was supported by British Council, India.