Project: Urban Act: Integrated Urban Climate Action for Low-Carbon & Resilient Cities

The visit of a group of Chinese academics and experts to Bangkok from 12 to 14 June 2024 marked the first in-person visit by the Chinese partners involved in the Urban-Act project since its inception in 2022. The delegation comprised academic and technical experts from Tongji University, the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the Shanghai Urban Planning & Design Research Institute (SUPDRI), and the National Climate Center (NCC) of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

GIZ successfully conducted its kick-off workshop of the Urban-Act Project China Component on January 25, 2024, in Beijing. The event was attended by over 50 participants from the German Embassy Beijing, GIZ East Asia, GIZ Urban-Act Thailand Component, GIZ Urban-Act Philippines Component, GIZ Urban-Act Indonesia Component, U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) and Chinese partners at national and city levels.

On 15 November 2023, the Urban-Act project China component and its regional consortium partner United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) organised a learning forum titled “City Enabling Environment Assessment on Environmental and Climate Change Governance”. The event took place in conjunction with the 9th UCLG ASPAC Congress in Yiwu, Zhejiang, and gathered about 40 representatives and practitioners from city governments and institutes in China, Thailand, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, and other countries.

The Urban-Act project held a knowledge sharing workshop titled “Urban Spatial Planning in the Context of Climate Change: Indicator System and Implementation Assessment” in the project’s pilot city of Xi’an on 13 October 2023. With the support of Tongji University and Xi’an Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, the workshop allowed for exchanges on current developments and noteworthy practices by twenty representatives and implementation partners from Xi’an, Xiamen, Beijing, and Shanghai.

From 10 to 16 September 2023, the Urban-Act project hosted an Indonesian delegation on low-carbon transportation planning in China in collaboration with the Trico Fund. During its stay, the delegation made on-site visits in Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.

On 24 August 2023, a hybrid virtual exchange meeting was organized by the Urban-Act project on the topic of institutional arrangements in climate services, upon the request of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD).