Workshop launch for REEEP
ICLEI South Asia and the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, with the support of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) launched the project ‘Local Renewables: South-South cooperation between cities in India, Indonesia and South Africa’, at a workshop organized in Coimbatore on 12th December 2011.With an aim to promote knowledge exchange between cities in the developing world, the project cities of Ekurhuleni, South Africa and Yogyakarta, Indonesia will join ICLEI's Local Renewables (LR) network to increase the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency at the local level. They will be guided by the resource city of Coimbatore, India, an LR city. Project cities, the host city officials, ICLEI and REEEP representatives, Indian solar cities and local
stakeholders from Coimbatore participated in the workshop. The Mayor of Coimbatore, Mr. S M Vellusamy and the Municipal Commissioner, Mr. T K Ponnusamy along with other key officials of the Coimbatore Corporation were present to inaugurate the workshop.The workshop, spread over two days, consisted of an inaugural day that formally launched the project, and a day of site visits for the visiting participants. The inaugural day consisted of extensive presentations by the cities present about on going and planned initiatives at the local level on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Participants visited Coimbatore's renewable energy and energy efficiency sites, such as the wind-solar PV hybrid system installed at the city-owned bus terminal, the next day.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the international and Indian city officials to interact extensively and to view the range of activities that could be undertaken to comprehensively address the uptake of renew
able energy and energy efficiency at the local level. Over the next 15 months, the project cities of Ekurhuleni in South Africa and Yogyakarta in Indonesia will go through the steps of the Local Renewables initiative (www.local-renewables.org) with the guidance of Coimbatore.Durban Adaptation Charter adopted by local governments worldwide
The Durban Local Government Convention: adapting to a changing climate – towards COP17/ CMP7 and beyond, brought together 114 mayors and other elected local leaders representing over 950 local governments from around the world in the signing of the Durban Adaptation Charter, a political commitment to strengthen local resilience to climate change.The Convention was organised by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, on behalf of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, South African Local Government Association (SALGA), South African Cities Network (SACN) and eThekwini Municipality.
Among those who att
ended the convention and signed the Charter were the mayor of Delhi, Prof. Rajni Abbi, the mayor of Coimbatore, Velusamy Sengathurai, and the mayor of Thimphu, Bhutan, Kinlay Dorjee.By signing the Charter, local governments have committed to unprecedented levels of local climate action to:
• mainstream adaptation as a key informant of all local government development planning
• ensure that adaptation strategies are aligned with mitigation strategies
• promote the use of adaptation that recognizes the needs of vulnerable communities, and ensure sustainable local economic development
• prioritize the role of functioning ecosystems as core municipal green infrastructure
• seek innovative funding mechanisms, etc.
Host city Durban’s mayor, James Nxumalo, who led the signing of the Charter, stated:
Local governments from around the world made history today by committing themselves to enhanced adaptation action through their signing of the Durban Adaptation Charter. The Charter is a clear indication that the impacts of climate change can only be addressed through development that promotes human welfare, ensures ecosystem integrity and promotes a new greener economy. It is appropriate that this challenge was taken up on African soil, given the vulnerability of our continent to climate change impacts; and in Durban, a city that has become a leader in the field of climate change adaptation
Read More:
- ICLEI Post-COP17/CMP7 Press Release
- References to local and subnational governments in the decisions of UN Durban Climate Conference
- Durban Adaptation Charter
- Daily Briefings, webcasts of press conferences and official interventions
- Updated Photo gallery
- Updated media coverage
Cities training programme for Climate Change and Adaptation
ICLEI South Asia, with support from the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) conducted a series of 3 Regional Training Workshops in three cities – Bhubaneswar, New Delhi and Mysore on ‘Climate Change and Adaptation for Indian Cities’.
It was attended by representatives from over 30 cities from 15 states in the country. Apart from local governments, academicians, local NGOs, students, state government and parastatal organizations were also part of the trainings in the 3 workshops. The main aim of these workshops is to build the capacities of local governments and key stakeholders to assess climate change threats and opportunities and incorporate climate adaptation measures into planning processes with the aim of safeguarding the interests and well being of local communities.
The first training workshop was held in Bhubaneswar for the eastern region of the country between 15-16 November 2011 and hosted by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. It was inaugurated by Shri Debi Prasad Mishra , Minister for Environment & Forests, Government of Odisha and was attended by 14 cities from Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. Agenda
For the northern and western region, second workshop was held on 22-23 November, 2011, at the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi. The Hon’ble Mayor of Delhi, Prof. Rajni Abbi inaugurated the workshop. Cities from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya P
radesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Gujarat were part of the workshop. AgendaThe last of the series for the southern region, the workshop was held in Mysore, Karnataka between 29-30 November 2011 and was inaugurated by the Municipal Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation, Mr. K S Raykar, Depu
ty Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation. Cities from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and representatives from the Directorate of Municipal Administration, Karnataka participated in the programme. AgendaThe training programme developed by ICLEI South Asia has also drew upon the process followed in the Training of Trainers on Cities and Climate Change conducted by GIZ.
It has 5 training modules with the methodology based on the one developed by ICLEI South Asia under the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) Project, which aims at developing a toolkit for local governments to prepare local climate adaptation strategies to meet the local climate threats.
ADB Forum: ICLEI calls for bottom-up finance for resilience programs
ICLEI participated in the Asia Urban Forum 2011, Manila, held in November under the theme “Financing Future Cities”. ICLEI maintained an information booth at Forum, which attracted representatives from Asian institutions and allowed for numerous conversations. Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia also joined the ICLEI team at the ADB Forum.ICLEI Secretary General Konrad Otto-Zimmermann delivered a keynote presentation on Financing the Green City. He called for bottom-up finance for urban resilience upgrade programs.
Read more, please visit the ADB Urban Forum 2011 website.
ACCESSanitation: Third National Workshop in Philippines
Enabling local authorities to initiate and promote sustainable sanitation solutions, improving health conditions, alleviating poverty, fostering the local economy and increasing food security through the ACCESSanitation project, ICLEI South Asia along with its partners organized the Third National Workshop in Puerto Princesa, in the Philippines between 26th and 30th September 2011. The workshop gave the participants an opportunity to experience first-hand sustainable sanitation solutions in practice and facilitate sharing of experiences among the participating cities. To keep the Project Partners and Advisory Board Members update on the progress of the project in the participating cities, 3rd Advisory and 4th Partners Meeting were also held 20th – 24th September, 2011, in Manila, Philippines.
AsianCitiesAdapt Stakeholders' Meeting in Madurai
In order to carry forward AsianCitiesAdapt project in Madurai in a participatory manner a Stakeholders' Meeting was held on 9th September, 2011. This meeting was a knowledge sharing experience where all the expert stakeholders of the city shared their views regarding the city and the issue of climate change. It involved discussions on the vulnerability of the city, the various adaptation measures relevant for the city, methods for awareness generation and capacity building etc. More>>First Stakeholders meet: Coimbatore to be first solar city in TN
Member city Coimbatore is the first city in Tamil Nadu to become a solar city in the state. Under the MNRE’s Development of Solar Cities programme, ICLEI South Asia has developed the city’s master plan, which has been presented at the first Stakeholders’ meeting held in Coimbatore on 11th August, 2011. At the meeting convened by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, attended by representatives from Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, other city officials and NGOs, Commissioner Mr. T. K. Ponnusamy said that the Corporation will install a solar cell on its premises to oversee the implementation of the project and create awareness. The programme is to help cities to rely more on renewable energy. ICLEI to pursue GNH in South Asia
Creating Healthy and Happy Communities became a strategic goal for ICLEI last year at the Future of Cities Congress in the Republic of Korea, in a move to promote vitality health, education, culture, and good governance amongst local communities. This initiative is based on the same fundamental principles as Gross National Happiness (GNH), an approach Bhutan adopted last year as a yardstick for development, moving away from an analysis based wholly on the country’s economy. Speaking on the occasion, Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi, Bhutan’s minister of labour and human resources, said a government’s duty is to create conditions through which citizens can improve their own situations so that they may lead happier lives. Happiness and wellbeing has been a development goal and a central part of Bhutan’s political framework since 1972, when it was first put forth by the country’s fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It is based on the belief that the pursuit of happiness is the innermost desire of every human being, and that of every citizen of the kingdom. Early this year, GNH was officially adopted as part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
ICLEI South Asia shares GNH’s focus on sustainable, holistic development and wishes to incorporate the concept in its own activities in the region. Emani
Kumar, executive director of ICLEI South Asia, recently visited Thimphu, Bhutan to discuss ICLEI’s interest in developing a training module around GNH with the Bhutanese Deputy Prime Minister Yeshi Zimba. Bhutan expressed interest in the project and proposed that ICLEI present a blue print of the module, which will be put forward to the Union Cabinet of Bhutan.Bhutan is establishing a GNH Centre to facilitate the implementation of GNH activities globally. Kumar discussed the possibility of ICLEI being a part of this initiative.
Solar Cities: 2nd Stakeholders meet in Nagpur
The Second Stakeholders meeting was held in Nagpur on August 6, 2011, under the MNRE's 'Development of Solar Cities Programme'. Nagpur is one of the 'Model Solar City' under this programme. The meeting was attended by the Hon'ble Mayor Ms. Archana Dehankar, Commissioner Mr. Sanjay Jaiswal, other municipal staff and stakeholders.
ICLEI South Asia Team - Mr. Ravi Ranjan Guru, Mr. Ashish Verma and Ms. Rashmi Sinha presented the final draft of the solar city master plan for the Nagpur city. They held wide range of discussions on the master plan with all the present members, who well appreciated the draft.
ICLEI South Asia Team - Mr. Ravi Ranjan Guru, Mr. Ashish Verma and Ms. Rashmi Sinha presented the final draft of the solar city master plan for the Nagpur city. They held wide range of discussions on the master plan with all the present members, who well appreciated the draft.
1st AsianCitiesAdapt Pilot workshop held in Kochi
The first Pilot workshop on AsianCitiesAdapt - impacts of climate change in target cities in India and the Philippines and local adaptation strategies was held in Kochi, Kerala, between July 13 and 14, 2011. The workshop organized by ICLEI South Asia along with IIT Delhi was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Mayor of Kochi Tony Chammani. He called for the attention of all the members for their active involvement in the process of implementation of strategies for climate change. Prof. S.K. Das from IIT Delhi, Ms. Barbara Anton and Ms. Jana Werg from project partners ICLEI ES, PIK respectively and project cities - Kochi, Madurai, Howrah and Visakhapatnam also attended the workshop.
More>>
‘Green Growth’ and cCCR focused at Korean Conference
ICLEI and the Korean Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS) organized ‘International Conference on Accelerating Green Growth’, on 19 May in Seoul, Korea, to promote local green growth and sustainable environmental practices in East Asia and called for the adoption of the carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR). ICLEI South Asia Executive Director Emani Kumar, along with team provided training and resources related to worldwide implemented local climate action and delivered a key note speech on the inaugural.Korean government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICLEI to support its East Asian Members in the development a green urban economy by introducing local green growth practices.
cCCR - adopted at the World Mayors Summit on Climate on 21 November 2010 in Mexico City, is a global mechanism which enables cities and local governments to publicly register their GHG reduction commitments, report performance and showcase action.
ICLEI South Asia ED appointed to REN21 Steering Committe
ICLEI South Asia Executive Director Emani Kumar has been appointed as a new local government representative in the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century Steering Committee REN21. His appointment will strengthen ICLEI’s long-time partnership with REN21. REN21 convenes international multi-stakeholder leadership to enable a rapid global transition to renewable energies in developing and industrialized economy. ICLEI has spearheaded a number of local renewable projects that supports local governments which promote the generation and supply of renewable energy and energy efficiency in cities.
UCP Indian delegates visit to US
ICLEI USA office hosted the Indian delegation comprising officials from Rajkot Municipal Corporation and Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and ICLEI South Asia, 5th May -10th May 2011. The visit was scheduled to fulfill one of the objectives of the Urban Climate Project (UCP), which is to exchange technical information between local governments in India and the United States of America. This delegation included:1. Mr. Ruthramoorthy Pillai Venkatachalam, Mayor, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation
2. Mrs. Rajmurali Gayathri, Councillor, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation
3. Mrs. Alpana Mitra, Officer on Special Duty, Rajkot City Municipal Corporation
4. Mr. Chetan Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs
5. Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director, ICLEI - South Asia
6. Mr. SellakrishnanChinnasamy, Project Officer to Coimbatore, ICLEI- South Asia
7. Ms. Soumya Chaturvedula, Manager, ICLEI – South Asia
More>>
Cities come together at Surat National Conference
A two day ‘National Conference on Sustainable cities’ was organized by the Surat Municipal Corporation from April 4 with objective of providing a better understanding of challenges, risk management, architecture and urban planning as almost half of the world's population is living in cities.
The conference was attended by over 200 delegates from over 50 cities in Gujarat and in the country. Mr. Emani Kumar, ED, ICLEI SA, presented to the participants about the carbon emission inventory and city energy status of four cities in Gujarat – Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. He also talked about the carbonn Cities Climate Registry and the Mexico City Pact. He invited more cities from Gujarat and India to sign the pact. Mr. Sunandan Tiwari of ICLEI SA also emphasized on the need to keep in view bio-diversities in the cities.
The conference was attended by over 200 delegates from over 50 cities in Gujarat and in the country. Mr. Emani Kumar, ED, ICLEI SA, presented to the participants about the carbon emission inventory and city energy status of four cities in Gujarat – Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. He also talked about the carbonn Cities Climate Registry and the Mexico City Pact. He invited more cities from Gujarat and India to sign the pact. Mr. Sunandan Tiwari of ICLEI SA also emphasized on the need to keep in view bio-diversities in the cities.
IPCC WGII & WGIII Expert Meet, March 22-24, 2011, Kolkata
ICLEI South Asia participated in the Expert Meeting organized by Working Groups II and III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to explore how the mitigation of climate change and the adaptation to climate impacts through human settlements and their infrastructure interact.
Sunandan Tiwari, Programme Coordinator-Sustainability, ICLEI South Asia, presented the various activities that it has undertaken over almost two decades in the areas of climate change mitigation, adaptation and advocacy at the global, national/sub-national and local levels. It also listed out some potential points for the other participants of the EM to consider from the perspective of local governments.
Issues discussed at the meeting were related to understanding the intersection of human settlements and infrastructure with climate change, including the built environment, transport, energy, water, sanitation and (solid and liquid) waste management.
The meeting sought to identify existing literature related to human settlements and infrastructure that can be assessed in the relevant chapters of Working Groups II and III of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5).
Presentation: Sunandan Tiwari, Programme Coordinator-Sustainability, ICLEI SA
For more information go to IPCC website: http://www.ipcc-wg3.de/meetings/expert-meetings-and-workshops/em-infrastructure
Sunandan Tiwari, Programme Coordinator-Sustainability, ICLEI South Asia, presented the various activities that it has undertaken over almost two decades in the areas of climate change mitigation, adaptation and advocacy at the global, national/sub-national and local levels. It also listed out some potential points for the other participants of the EM to consider from the perspective of local governments.
Issues discussed at the meeting were related to understanding the intersection of human settlements and infrastructure with climate change, including the built environment, transport, energy, water, sanitation and (solid and liquid) waste management.
The meeting sought to identify existing literature related to human settlements and infrastructure that can be assessed in the relevant chapters of Working Groups II and III of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5).
Presentation: Sunandan Tiwari, Programme Coordinator-Sustainability, ICLEI SA
For more information go to IPCC website: http://www.ipcc-wg3.de/meetings/expert-meetings-and-workshops/em-infrastructure
Urban Climate Project: Making Cities Clean and Green, 23 February 2011
ICLEI South Asia and its partners along with ICLEI USA organized a meet on February 23 in New Delhi to review the Urban Climate Project (UCP) . Along with Mr. Emani Kumar, ED, ICLEI South Asia, other delegates present were - Mr. David Cadman, ICLEI President; Mr. Martin Cavez, ICLEI-USA President; Mr. Griffin M Thompson, USDOS; Mr. Jereny Gustafson, USAID; Mr. Chetan Vaidya, NIUA; Mr. Bibek Bandhyopadhyay, MNRE.Project members and participants from U.S. and Indian counterparts also interacted and shared their experiences for improving sustainability in their cities and also reviewed the successes and accomplishments of the UCP in Rajkot and Coimbatore. David Cadman, ICLEI President, said," Clean and efficient cities is the challenge for cities." "We are at cutting edge of a very important change, concept models like cycling etc. key to futre." Martin Chavez, ICLEI USA said that local governments are committed to these issues over the years and continue practices.
The two cities- Rajkot and Coimbatore have focused primarily on developing renewable energy systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through efficient energy infrastructure projects, like water management and green building codes.
Rajkot has made efforts on greater savings in citywide energy use, as well as improving the waste water management system and developing green building codes. Coimbatore has installed hybrid wind and solar power generators for Coimbatore’s new Mettupalayam Road bus terminal and the bus terminal was fitted with energy efficient lighting systems. Efforts were also made to develop a 24 x 7 water supply system. These efforts have been made under UCP.
Mr. Griffin M Thompson, USDOS, said that local actions need to done at local levels and the cities need to address the financial and political challenges. "It is not about public-privtae-participation but public-public-participation." Mr. Jereny Gustafson, USAID, emphasied on the need of reducing green house gases.
PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), a funding mechanisms to enable the development and implementation of clean and efficient energy programs in India was also introduced by Kelley Mckanna, Project Manger, US-based Renewable Funding Company. "PACE financing is one of the best tools we have to make immediate progress toward meeting our climate change goals. It takes advantage of the best aspects of public-private partnerships to allow individual homeowners and business owners to save money, reduce carbon emissions and create jobs. That’s why so many state and local governments around the country have adopted it in the last year." she said. Presentation: Renewable Funding
Read More About PACE:
>>Correcting Clean Energy Market Failure with PACE
>>Guide to Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy financing Districts For Local Governments
>>Clean Energy Finance Guide
New Delhi International Conference on Cities and Climate Change, 21-22 February 2011
Cities cover less than 1% of the planet’s surface, and are home to around 50% of the world’s population, and many of them see a rapid growth trend. Taken together, all cities and urban areas worldwide use 75% of the world’s energy and are responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.Delhi being the national capital of India with small defined boundaries experiences a lot of stress on natural resources. The ever increasing demand for energy, habitat, transportation and solid and liquid waste disposal results in the generation of Green House Gases (GHGs) responsible for Global Warming. Many urban dwellers face life-threatening risks from the increased intensity of storms, flooding, water scarcity and other associated public health problems as a result of climate change.
The conference brought together a wide array of participants: representatives of city, state and national governments, national and international organizations, research institutions and technical experts in the field of climate change and environment management to discuss and engage in dialogue over two days. Issues ranging from sustainable municipal services to transitioning towards cleaner forms of energy in Indian cities were discussed. More>>
Organizers
- Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi
- ICLEI –Local Governments for Sustainability-South Asia
- Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH)
2nd NCWS, 3rd Partner Meeting and 2nd Advisory Board Meeting
Second National Level Cities’ Workshop: February 2-5, New Delhi.2nd Partner Meeting & 3rd Advisory Board Meeting: 27 January-1 February
ICLEI-SA along with its partners and supported by the Ministry of Urban Development, GOI, is organizing the “Second National Level Cities’ Workshop” and the "2nd Partner Meeting & 3rd Advisory Board Meeting".
The workshop and meeting saw an active participation by the member cities who also shared their initiatives carried out in their region. It provided a platform to draw the framework for the creation of the City Sanitation Plan.
ICLEI South Asia annual review
ICLEI South Asia conducted its annual review meeting at Sonapani, Nainital, Uttrakhand, between January 12-15, 2011. The meet offered an opportunity to take stock of all the ensuing programmes/projects and to get up-to-date about the activities that took place under different projects over the past year. Roadmaps were also charted out for new and ongoing projects for 2011.Various projects with many cities across South Asia are to begin while some others reached its completion: Realizing DReAMS project spanning cities in
South and South East Asia, ACCESSanitation in Asia and Africa, R&R, AsianCitiesAdapt and Solar City are well on the target and making progress. New projects like – SUNYA, LAB and the SPF3 are set to reach agreement with the cities.In 2010, ICLEI South Asia increased its cities members list to 42, with Tirupati being our latest city member. We hopes to continue expanding its network of cities in 2011 and is excited to be beginning another year of helping cities in the South Asian region on the path towards sustainability and environment sensitivity.
