The IUC project has entered into its second phase “International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC)”. In Asia and Australasia, the project supports EU cities partnerships with pairs in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand. IURC contributes
The IUC Asia project contributed to a bilingual publication (English/Chinese) by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) which compares adaptation measures to climate change implemented by cities in Europe and China. The publication will support the preparation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
The IUC team participated at the pre-launch workshop for the EIT Hub China. The initiative is part of the Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) running under the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT Hub China aims to establish a two-way bridge between the
Today, the IUC team organised a meeting with experts of the European Union’s Foreign Policy Instruments in Asia to take stock of climate action in Korea at national and local level. The meeting was attended by Patrick Polacsek and Sunmi Lee from the EU Delegation
Over 25 experts from Barcelona and Liuzhou met today online to discuss the progress of cooperation between both cities including the action plan and the possible collaboration between the urban development companies GINA Architects from Barcelona and CCDI from China. The event was opened by
About 25 local climate action officers from municipalities and counties in ChungNam province participated in an online training session on mitigation and adaptation to climate change organised by the IUC project in Korea. Three presentations followed by Q&A and discussion were given on the topics
The IUC Asia team participated in the 3rd GCoM coordination call. Dr. Sang In Kang presented the results of the IUC work in Korea during 2020, including the review papers in 4 Korean provinces. In 2020, the project deployed three local experts to carry out
The Metropolitan City of Bologna presented a digital twin of its garden pavilion currently under construction for the Horticutural Show 2021 in Yangzhou, China. Beyond Bologna, the pavilion showcases urban development concepts from the Italian cities of Fontanelice, Castel del Rio, Borgo Tossignano, Casalfiumanese, Imola,
The IUC Asia project held today a three-hour workshop on the transition from EU and Chinese cities towards low carbon development. The meeting involved nearly 40 participants – partly onsite in Beijing and partly online (via video conferencing). The event was a follow-up activity to
Representatives of GINA Architects from Barcelona met today online with colleagues from CCDI, a Chinese global architecture and engineering consulting firm, to discuss a concept note for developing specific plots in Liudong New District, Liuzhou. They discussed the concept design software, timing, deliverables and follow-up
The message was delivered by Councillor Octavian Stamate from the EU Energy and Climate Action Section of the Delegation of the European Union to China. Mr Stamate said that the current COVID-19 crisis brings out the opportunity to accelerate the clean energy transition and transform
Supporting the Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO), the IUC team co-organised today an online workshop on regional innovation. Around 50 participants joined the event that focused on the concept of smart specialisation as a means of improving investment in regional development. Dr. Rudolf Niessler
On 08 October 2020, Da Nang City organized an online workshop for city representatives on climate change mitigation under the IUC Asia project. Supported by UN-Habitat and CDP, the event was a follow to the previous online workshop organized on 20 July 2020. The workshop was
Representatives from the EU pilot cities of Mannheim, Barcelona, Granada and Rome joined a coaching session towards the funding possibilities for international projects with China. The coaching was given by Mr. Marco Mazziotti, Chief Officer EU Affairs at the Foreign Affairs Department of Milan’s Mayor
Shanghai rolled out tough measures to reduce plastic use and waste in the city, these policies became effective on October 1st. According to the Plan, by the end of 2020, Shanghai will ban and restrict the manufacturing and use of disposable plastics across catering, hospitality,
A coaching session was carried out to prepare the upcoming MoU signature ceremony between Rome and Yantai stakeholders. These include the Universities of Tuscia and Yantai (smart agriculture) and SETEL (smart city, precision agriculture). The session was organised by Prof. Gianlucca Fabbri and Oscar Prat.
The so-called “Gap Fund” was launched on 23 September 2020. The fund will address the critical lack of grant funding necessary to mature pipelines of projects from concept to a stage where they can be advanced towards full feasibility analysis and ultimately investment. This will
The European Union participated today at the workshop “EURO-CHINA Smart Cities, Facing Covid-19” held in Chongqing, China. The EU was represented by Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis, Head of the EU Delegation to China, as well as by Dr. Rudolf Niessler, Principal Advisor at DG REGIO of
The Department of Planning, Design, and Technology at the Faculty of Architecture (DPDTA) of Sapienza University just finished a two-week Summer School Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM). The event – which was taught in English – was a pilot project of
Experts from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority held the second online discussion with the Sichuan Energy Internet Research Institute (EIRI) of Tsinghua University on renewable energy cooperation. It was a follow-up session to the introductory exchange held in June 2020
The IUC-Asia Team participated in several meetings with the Chongqing Development and Reform Commission (DRC) as well as with the Management Committee of the Liangjiang New District. The team visited the planned representation office for Mannheim, which has been offered by the Chongqing Lianjiang New
The City of Barcelona has submitted the Urban Cooperative Action Plan (UCAP) for the activities with Liuzhou (Guangxi Province). The plan reflects the upodated priorities and counterparts in Liuzhou, including the Binjiang Smart Valley of Liudong New District. Barcelona proposes to enhance an exchange of
The IUC Asia project team participated today in this year’s second online stakeholders’ meeting for the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) in Korea. The event was attended by 12 participants representing the country’s GCoM Secretariat, the Brussels-based GCoM Secretariat, the IUC project as well as
A bilateral meeting took place between Se.Te.L. – Servizi Tecnici Logistici s.r.l. from Rome and Yantai based Jereh – Uniorange to follow up on the exchange that took place between Yantai and Lazio earlier this month representing the universities of Yantai, Tuscia and La Sapienza
The IUC team organised an online meeting between experts from Rome and Yangzhou to discuss some technical details of Rome’s garden pavilion design as well as of few possible events to be organised by Rome during the Yangzhou Horticulture Expo 2021. Dr. Patrick Maurelli and
The IUC team participated in today’s regional exchange on the green recovery organised by the GCoM Secretariat. The event was opened by Gregor Robertson (Mayor of Vancouver and GCoM Global Ambassador) and included presentations by the City of Seoul, the Cities Climate Leadership Alliance, and
A stocktaking meeting was held today between experts from the European Commission (DG REGIO) and the author’s team drafting the EU-China Regional Policy Study. At the event, the regional policy specialists from China and Europe exchanged about the preliminary findings of the comparison at the
Today a meeting on smart city and energy transition was carried out between Yantai Jereh Uniorange and the IUC in the presence and on the occasion of the visit or Yantai Party Secretary Mr. Zhang Shuping and Yantai Mayor Mr. Chen Fei. Both high ranking
Over 60 experts from Penang in Malaysia and Europe participated in today’s online Stakeholder Consultation on Circular Cities. The event was opened by Penang’s Chief Minister Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, who focused on exploring steps for cooperation with EU cities to contribute towards a greener
Within the education and smart city clusters, an online exchange session was held today between 13 experts from the IUC, Yantai and Rome, including Yantai University and the universities Sapienza and Tuscia of Rome. In order to complement the university cooperation, the partners involved the
A video message was delivered today by Mr. Octavian Stamate, Counsellor for Climate Action and Energy at the Delegation of the European Union to China. The message was delivered at the opening of the EXCEL Accelerator Open Day and focused on the EU-China cooperation on
Over 100 experts from Malaysia and Europe have joined today’s stakeholder consultation webinar on circular economy in the city of Petaling Jaya. The event was opened by the Deputy Mayor, Ms. Azlinda Azman and included presentations by experts from Malaysia (Petaling Jaya City Council, Iskandar
The IUC Project participated at the Nanjing TechWeek 2020. On this occasssion, the China Europe Industrial Design Theme Hall was officially inaugurated. It was honored with the presence of Nanjing Municipality Inspector of Science and Technology Mr. Zhou Wen Hai, the Vice-Head of Jianye District Mr.
The IUC project held today an experts’ discussion on the EU-China Regional Innovation Study currently under elaboration. The meeting was moderated by Amadeo Jensana and Guillermo Martínez from Casa Asia. At the exchange, Prof. Lun Liu and Prof. Robert Hassink introduced the updated version of
Today the IUC-Asia held its important mid-term meeting on monitoring technical assistance of Climate Action Plans (CAPs) development in 13 pilot cities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The meeting was a chance to take stock with the line directorates of the European Commission (CLIMA /
An online session took place today to verify possible collaboration of start-ups in the framework of the IUC thematic cluster on Healthy Cities and Life Sciences. The activity was a follow-up to the participation of the Smart City IoT Lab of Rome and Lazio to
The IUC Team elaborated 34 documents summarising the main areas of cooperation among European and Chinese cities. The “UCAP at a glance documents” cities’ activities of: 13 European pilot cities 2017-2020 17 Chinese pilot cities 2017-2020 4 thematic clusters The “Urban Cooperation Action Plans (UCAPs)
After months of social distancing and self-isolation in Indonesia, this month has brought the beginning of the transition to a “new normal” period. During this controlled social life, the IUC Asia Team held a virtual meeting with Makassar City Government for a capacity-building session on
Experts from Europe and Asia discussed today the draft version of the EU-China Regional Innovation Study, focusing on the case studies from both regions respectively. The experts Prof. Robert Hassink and Prof Liu Lun introduced the making of regional innovation strategies and the involvement of
The IUC Asia project hosted today the first online meeting between Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and Tsinghua University Chengdu EIRI Institute on the topic of smart grids, energy sector technologies and hydrogen. The event was facilitated by Rebecca Drakeford from MIDAS – Manchester Investment and
Twenty representatives from the University of Tuscia (Rome), the University of Yantai (Shandong Province), and the IUC Asia team met today to discuss cooperation in different areas of research and academic education related to urban agriculture. Yantai has proposed to jointly establish a Sino-Italian Faculty
The Smart City Lab of Rome and Lazio – co-funded by the European Union’s regional development fund – launched the EUROPE ASIA SMART PLATFORM to facilitate scientific and technological cooperation among researchers, small and medium enterprises, start-ups and investors from Lazio and China. The platform
The IUC Team visited the new pilot city of Panjin. The visit was coordinated by Panjin’s Development and Reform Commission (DRC) and involved the following field visits: Liaodong Bay New District and 2 joint venture petrochemical projects collaborated with European companies. Panjin Vocational and Technical
Coordinated by the Metropolitan City of Bologna and by Guangzhou Development District (GDD), stakeholders from both sides discussed potential cooperation on industrial design. At the core of the online exchange was Bologna’s interest in promoting the internationalisation of the creative cluster of Reggio Emilia (CLUST-ER)
Following the EU cities’ missions to Liuzhou in June and September 2019, as well as Liuzhou visits to EU pilot cities, experts from both sides held today a virtual meeting to focus on Liudong New District as the pilot zone for EU-Liuzhou regional cooperation within
Experts from the Sichuan Energy Internet Research Institute (EIRI) at Tsinghua University and of two departments from Rome’s University Sapienza (CITERA – Interdepartmental Center for Territory, Building, Restoration, Environment and theDepartment of Planning, Design, and Technology of Architecture) held an online meeting to identify concrete
Strengthening of the capacity of city governments in developing City Climate Action Plan (CAP) in line with the GCoM Common Reporting Framework (CRF) is a key component of the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) Asia activity in Vietnam. Capacity building workshop on climate adaptation was held
The IUC team organised a coordination meeting among the European Union’s Joint Research Center (JRC) and IUC’s technical partner CCROM (Centre for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management) to discuss the integration of Indonesia’s climate reporting platforms (SIGN SMART – SIDIK) into the Global Covenant of
Experts from Sichuan Energy Internet Research Institute (EIRI) at Tsinghua University, University Sapienza CITERA (Interdepartmental Center for Territory, Building, Restoration, Environment), Sapienza’s Department of Planning, Design, and Technology of Architecture, the Renewable Energy Association FREE and the IoT Smart City Lab of Rome held an
Experts from Europe and China held an online exchange on the regional innovation study being elaborated with the support of the EU and the NDRC. Amadeo Jensana, Director of Casa Asia in charge of the study elaboration, introduced with European and Chinese colleagues the state
Experts from Stuttgart Region and Nanjing Fair met online on Tuesday 05 May 2020 to develop a cooperation concept for industrial design, an area of interest for both sides. Margit Wolf, Project Manager for Creative Industries at Stuttgart Regional Economic Development Agency and Frieder Oesterle
Representatives from Greater Manchester Authority joined an online exchange session with the IUC team and with Dr. Ronald Hall – senior advisor to DG REGIO – to reflect on the bilateral exchanges held in China and Europe in the last 12 months, focusing on the
Cities now need to move toward implementing concrete measures contained in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Numerous funding mechanisms are now available from climate funds, multilateral development banks, and development cooperation partners. However, local governments often lack the capacity, knowledge and resources to prepare
Experts from Bologna and Stuttgart participated in separate coaching sessions with the IUC-Asia experts aimed at further developing the U-CAPs and the pilot projects. The online meetings of approximately 90 min each allowed the EU cities’ experts to reflect on the bilateral exchanges held in
The IUC team organised an online meeting between European and Chinese climate action experts to discuss the EU-China Low Carbon Cities Joint Study, to be launched in July 2020. Mr Zhou Zeyu – Associate Senior Researcher in China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and
The IUC Methodology Taskforce (MTF) Coordinator Sandra Marín coached IUC Asia experts on the development of the Urban Cooperation Action Plans (UCAPs). The session focused on the revision of the “UCAPs at a Glance” files elaborated by the IUC team for each of the Chinese
The private sector plays a critical role in translating the commitments of the Paris Agreement into tangible action in the real economy, whether it’s providing clean energy, enhancing adaptive capacity throughout their supply chain, or enabling broader societal resilience in the communities from which they
Experts from Barcelona, Granada, and Rome participated in separate coaching sessions with the IUC-Asia experts aimed at further developing the U-CAPs and the pilot projects. The online meetings of approximately 90 min each allowed the EU cities’ experts to reflect on the bilateral exchanges held
On 14 – 15 April 2020, the IUC Asia programme held several consultation meetings with Palembang city to support the development of the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). Hosted by Environmental Agency, the meetings were attended by various city agencies of Palembang related to climate
The IUC project participated in a stakeholders’ call of the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) organised by ICLEI Korea, which holds the national GCoM Secretariat. At the event the projet team, presented a progress report on the IUC support to the GCoM implementation in Korea.
Brussels, 9 April 2020: The IUC-Asia organised a live video discussion today between its programme pilot cities from Europe and China, as part of the new online series of thematic discussion rounds. On the call from the EU were experts from Barcelona, Granada, Rome, Bologna,
Online Webinar, 2 April 2020: The IUC-Asia organised an online video discussion today in cooperation with the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Attending the call were 44 experts from cities in Europe and Asia, sharing experiences and best practices
The Chinese IUC pilot city of Yangzhou (Jiangsu Province) and representatives from Stuttgart Region, Bologna, Rome and Greater Manchester discussed today the participation at the Horticulture Expo 2021, to be held in Yangzhou from April to October 2021 (see below PPT). At the online meeting,
Due to the corona crisis and the high interest from EU and Asian cities to identify the added value of international cooperation for disaster preparedness at local level, the IUC project launched an online exchange session. The team explained the link of the EU Urban
IUC Asia Helpdesk/GCoM Southeast Asia Secretariat organised its first webinar entitled “Development of Cities’ Mitigation Action Plans” on 17 March 2020. There were 46 participants representing 10 Indonesian cities including the five pilot cities namely Palembang, Depok, Malang, Denpasar, and Makassar as well as Tangerang,
As a part of IUC pilot cities in Indonesia, Makassar city organized a workshop on GHG inventory on 4-5 March 2020. The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity building to city officers in developing GHG inventory. IUC Asia’s technical partner, Centre for Climate Risk and
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) posted a Request for Information (RFI) for the provision of professional services to develop a digital tool to assist local governments in South-East Asia to monitor and visualize plastic waste leakages into the marine
Penampang – an IUC Asia pilot city – is the capital of the Penampang District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. The town has virtually become a suburb of Kota Kinabalu and considered as part of Greater Kota Kinabalu area. The name Penampang
On 3 March 2020, the IUC Asia project – supported by CDP and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) – organised capacity building workshops in developing GHGI and CRVA for Kampong Bharu. Using the GHG emissions inventory as the foundation, a Climate Action Plan (CAP) defines GHG
IUC Asia and UN Habitat organised a roadshow to the three Vietnamese cities of Can Tho, Da Nang and Tam Ky on 10-14 February 2020 with the objectives of (1) discussing the project’s expected results and tentative workplan; (2) discussing with city leaders the possibilities
IUC Asia HelpDesk/GCoM Southeast Asia Secretariat Technical Coordinator, Dini Laraswati, organised a meeting with Depok City Environmental Agency on 5 February 2020. The meeting aimed to discuss the validity and quality of GHG inventory report 2018 that had been completed by Depok. The session was
The IUC project team held today an online meeting to take stock of ongoing city-to-city cooperation. The meeting was attended by the FPI and DG REGIO and included an update on the main priorities of the new Chinese cities (joining the programme in November 2019)
The Brussels-based IUC project support team elaborated a case study reflecting on the cooperation between Metropole Nice Cote D’Azur and Haikou (Hainan). The document focuses on areas like tourism, e-health and smart monitoring in urban areas. It also showcases innovative academic collaboration under development, as
The Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council (HTJMC) invited the GCoM SEA Secretariat to attend a briefing and discussion session on future collaboration between Hang Tuah Jaya (HTJ) and the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) Southeast Asia Secretariat on 20 January 2020 in Hang Tuah Jaya,
The IUC project team met with local authorities from the IUC pilot cities of Guangzhou and Yangzhou to discuss the implementation of pilot projects. In Guangzhou, meetings were held with representatives from Guangzhou Development District (GDD). Mr. Donminique Li from Global Start explained the main
On behalf of the IUC project, the Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies (IUE) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) organised a work meeting on urban climate resilience in Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, on 17-18 December 2019. After seriously hit by the Sichuan earthquake
Three experts from the IUC Asia team and the pilot city of Rome participated at the EU-China Smart Sustainable Cities workshop organised in Brussels by the EU Project Urban-EU China. The event – hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) – took
Within the Global Covenant of Mayors for Energy and Climate (GCoM) Day at COP25 in Madrid, a panel discussion on “Unlocking Urban Investment Opportunities” was held on Monday, 9 December 2019. Panelists highlighted the importance of having good plans which can be used to attract
Within the support to the Global Covenant of Mayor (GCoM), the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) Asia programme cooperates with the Government of Indonesia in developing cities Climate Action Plan (CAPs). The plans are elaborated according to the GCoM Common Reporting Framework and help national and
Two important events related to the effort of cities to combat climate change took place in Brussels, Belgium at the end of November 2019. The Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) Secretariat organised an open house inviting helpdesks and secretariats of GCoM from different regions of
European Commission’s DG REGIO experts Ramón Lopez and Rudolf Niesler met this week with delegates from NDRC in Barcelona and Brussels, during an NDRC / Chinese cities’ visit to Europe. The Chinese delegation – that also visited counterparts in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg – was headed
Chinese delegates participated at the 3rd IUC Global Event that took place in Brussels on Thursday 21th November. Here, the results of the pilot project development between Rome and Liuzhou were assessed by representatives from both sides. Also, Chinese cities participated in the break-out sessions
The IUC Asia programme has been showcased at the 2nd Paris Peace Forum from 12-13 November 2019. The Paris Peace Forum was created to promote collective action, multilateralism and the good stewardship of common public goods to address common challenges and maintain peace. The event
Nearly 40 experts from Korean and other Asian cities participated in the second climate action workshop organised by the IUC in cooperation with the ICEC in Gwangju on 5th and 6th November 2019. Whereas module 1 (2018) and 2 (2019) focused on mitigation (GHG BEI,
Thirty-four participants from 14 Malaysian cities attended the training on climate financing on 14-15 October 2019 in Seberang Perai and Penang, in conjunction with the 7th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF 7). Focusing on overall climate financing process for cities, the training was part of EU’s
The IUC project and the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) co-organized the sub-forum “Chinese Low-carbon Pilot City Forum” with the support of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE). The event took place on 23rd October in Zhenjiang back-to-back to
Within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, DG REGIO’s Principal Advisor Dr Rudolf Niessler met in Penang with a delegation from NDRC led by Mr Zhang Dongqiang, Deputy Director-General for Regional Economy of NDRC. At a side meeting-meeting, both sides reviewed the results of
Practitioners from China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Europe gathered during the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) to discuss about the development of circular economy solutions in their cities. Rudolf Niessler, Principal Advisor, DG for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission, introduced the objectives of the session,
Six cities in Indonesia comprised of Tangerang, Makassar, Denpasar, Malang, Palembang, and Depok signed commitment letters to obtain supports from the European Union (EU) through International Urban Cooperation (IUC) Asia in developing climate action plans aiming to build city resilience in Tangerang City on 17
The IUC project is working with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) by contributing with two chapters to the 2019 Blueprint on Climate Change in China. For more information, please see the final report 2019 (upon request) and refer to related news: Workshop on
The IUC Asia Programme was invited to participate at the Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Energy Transition & Coal Phase-out in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province from 4-5 September 2019. The event – organised by The Stanley Foundation and Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) – was attended by
Makassar, the capital of Sulawesi Province in Indonesia, started cooperation on energy and climate change within the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) initiative. The GCoM’s implementation in Indonesia is supported by the European Union through the IUC project. On the occasion of the “European Union’s
In cooperation with the ICEC (International Climate & Environment Centre) and the Gwangju Metropolitan City, the IUC project held a training on energy and climate change in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. The event was opened by H.E. Michael Reiterer, Ambassador of the EU, who also
Representatives from the EU IUC cities of Rome, Bologna, Emilia-Romana and Stuttgart Region have participated at the 2nd “Nanjing Tech Week / European Chamber High-Level Innovation Conference“. The event – that was opened by Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis from the EU Delegation to China – gathered
The EU cities of Barcelona, Granada, Rome and Stuttgart Region (including Ludwigsburg) undertook a mission to the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Liuzhou. The mission – which took place from 09 – 15 June 2019 – was the first city-to-city mission of the IUC cities
Mannheim, 3 June 2019. In cooperation with the City of Mannheim and the ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, the IUC project organised the first European-Chinese Business & Regional Innovation Forum held in Mannheim. The event– which was attended by more than 120
Upon the invitation of Kunming City Government, Nice’s Deputy Mayor Christian Tordo visited today the IUC pairing city of Kunming to participate in the Smart Tourism City Summit 2019. Taking up this high-level visit, the IUC Asia team organised an intensive programme for Mr Tordo
MODULE 2 – MITIGATION: Emission Reduction and Low Carbon Society | As part of Global Covenant of Mayors’ capacity building series for Malaysian cities, IUC Asia in coordination with Kuala Lumpur Regional Training Center and CityNet organised the second training in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
