Bangkok, 12-13 June 2024 | After three and a half years of implementation, the European Union-funded GCoM Asia Project is coming to an end. Since 2021, the project has worked across eight Asian countries, supporting climate action for over 250 cities. Through technical assistance, capacity building, networking, and knowledge-sharing activities, the GCoM Asia Project has helped local climate action planning and implementation at the city level.

This workshop, titled ‘Advancing Climate Action for Resilient Cities,’ was an excellent opportunity to showcase collective achievements, share lessons learned, and discuss ways to move forward to strengthen actions and achieve climate goals. The event was attended by 120 participants from GCoM cities and technical partners from most Asian contract countries (Republic of Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia) as well as selected city representatives from European cities. Representatives from GCoM South Asia Secretariat consisted of all three members – AIILSG, ICLEI South Asia and NIUA. The workshop began with opening remarks by the EU Ambassador, H.E. David Daly, the Governor of Bangkok, Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, and the Brussels-based Head of Unit of the EU Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), Ms. Irène Mingasson. The workshop included keynotes from Paulo Barbosa from the EU’s Joint Paulo Barbosa and Bangkok’s Chief Sustainability Officer Mr. Pornprom Vikitsreth. The event included a GCoM badging ceremony for 23 cities participating. The main part of the workshop consisted of six thematic sessions dealing with mitigation and adaptation to climate change in Asian and European cities. Also, GCoM partners from the Asian region could share their thoughts regarding the future GCoM support through their organisations.

Day 1 of the workshop was summarised and closed by Ms. Alexandra Lehmann from the EU FPI regional team Asia-Pacific. Day 2 of the closing workshop focused on an interactive session by European cities and Asian cities showcasing their climate action plans and proposing avenues for future collaboration. It included a site visit to the Noi Canal in Bangkok, which is a possible place proposed by a feasibility study to roll out a curtains solution to clean the waterways.