This workshop will provide an overview of global trends in environmental disclosure and reporting in 2019 in light of the recent announcement of CDP and ICLEI’s joint unified reporting system. Workshop participants will gain expanded knowledge of global city climate policy and new trends in reporting and measuring environmental impact, an overview of CDP and ICLEI’s unified reporting system, and a comprehensive briefing on the technical changes and guidance on the current questionnaires.

Through the project, ICLEI will support 20 cities, with emission inventories, targets and guidelines for mitigation. It includes preparation of an inventory of GHG emissions and atmospheric pollutants; future emission scenarios for 5, 10, 20 and 40 years, with reduction targets; institutional implementation strategies and inventory review mechanisms; and training of RMC technicians in the GPC methodology to allow the initiative to be internally replicated in the inventory review processes.

Local governments are key actors when it comes to tackling climate change. Reducing GHG emissions at the local level should be managed and monitored using well-structured mechanisms. In South Korea, the Korea Environment Corporation (KeCO) supports Korean Local governments to calculate their GHG inventories. It has developed a tool based on the IPCC 2016 Guidelines, and it provides technical capacity for developing local GHG inventories. At the global level ICLEI, WRI and C40 developed the Global Protocol for Community-scale GHG inventories (GPC), now embedded in the GCoM Data Standard. This is the recommended approach for all local governments. Yet not all tools used by local governments are aligned to this new global approach. By aligning KeCO’s tool with the GPC, local governments in Korea can benefit in terms of cost and time when reporting their inventory together with their reduction target and action plan – connecting tem to the global developments. ICLEI coordinates the alignment process and the application process to obtain for the KeCO GHG tool an official stamp of approval, confirming the tool is confrm to the GPC, as part of the WRI GHG Protocol. This will enable Korean local governments to report their GG inventoriues using the KeCo tool, thereby receiving confirmation that they are using the Gcom Data Standard of global reporting.

ICLEI East Asia supported the Seoul Metropolitan Government in organizing the 9th Northeast Asia Forum on Air Quality Improvement as a co-organizer. The Forum was attended by officials of 35 local governments, including all EACAC cities except for Guiyang. On this occasion, Tokyo, Beijing, and Shenzhen introduced their policies on vehicle emissions reduction; Sichuan presented in the stationary emissions reduction section. ICLEI East Asia shared its experience of strengthening regional cooperation and collaboration through EACAC together with other city networks including C40, CCAC, and GUAPO.

The ‘Platform on Coal Regions in Transition’ supports coal regions (local and/or regional governments) to take on the challenge of the clean energy transition by building capacity through needs-oriented technical assistance, focusing on key areas of the transition process; developing support materials, toolkits, guidelines, and reports, focusing on issues such as employment, governance, financing, environmental rehabilitation, clean air, and technologies; and connecting stakeholders and facilitating dialogue among regions and the wider stakeholder community. ICLEI aims to build awareness of the Platform and develop a reputation for the Platform as a valuable source of expertise and information among primary target audiences. ICLEI fosters the creation of dynamic knowledge-sharing communities among the Platform’s primary target audiences and encourages participation in cooperation and knowledge-sharing activities.

ICLEI East Asia serves as the Secretariat of EACAC, providing a long-term cooperation platform for East Asian cities committed to tackling air pollution through city-to-city exchange and collaboration.
The main activities of EACAC include: 1) (co)organizing forums, workshops and study trips for capacity building; 2) facilitating participants' engagement; 3) compiling case studies on East Asian cities’ air quality management; and 4) mobilizing resources for future development of the program and its member cities.
Under EACAC, ICLEI East Asia has provided the seed funding of the research project “Green Lung” in Ulaanbaatar (2017-2019), which promotes urban greening as a means to improve air quality in the city. ICLEI East Asia has also supported the Beijing Bureau of Ecology and Environment in strengthening its capacity on international cooperation (2018-2019), and deliver a bilateral research between Beijing and Seoul (2019-), focusing on the comparison of the two cities’ policies on the replacement of outdated boilers, vehicle control, fugitive dust management and seasonal control measures.