What we did
East Asian cities are still at the very early stage of decarbonization and have a long way to go to achieve carbon neutrality and energy transition goals. Renewable energy only accounts for a marginal share in East Asian cities. Based on cities’ experience and ICLEI’s observation, we identified following challenges facing cities on clean energy transition: ● Strong commitment but weak actions: Overall, cities are active on climate governance (e.g., stated climate goal) and smart city innovation but lagging behind on sustainable energy use and supply action.6 ● Lack of international or regional stocktake on cities’ energy transition action: Many international organizations (e.g., IEA and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)) and research institutions focus on national energy policies. Some reports highlighted city-level actions, but there is no live and consistent monitoring of energy transition progress in cities. Considering the importance of cities in energy transition, the gap needs to be met. ● Established international forums have limited impact on transferring and scaling up practical solutions: Annual forums on low-carbon cities held in East Asia contribute to raising awareness and building networks. However, it is questionable how much the forums can support in spreading practical decarbonization actions, given their broad topics, lack of in-depth discussion and follow-up actions. ● Challenges facing city policymakers in learning international best practices: Reports of international best practices published by international organizations may not reach out to cities’ policymakers. It is also difficult for the policymakers to learn from the reports due to language barriers and knowledge gaps. As a city-network, ICLEI East Asia has an edge of directly influencing cities’ policymakers.
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