Solar panels on the roof of a residential apartment in Da Nang (Photo: VNA) Da Nang (VNA) - Four cities in Vietnam– Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An and Dong Ha – have agreed to enter World Wild Fund forNature (WWF)’s One Planet City Challenge programme to show how cities can be ahub for creativity, ambition and innovation in dealing with climatechange.
A WWF statement on March 22 said cities generate70 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and WWF’s One Planet City Challengeis a biennial competition that recognises and rewards cities for developinginfrastructure, housing, transport and mobility solutions to power the globaltransition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
“Cities can be the blueprint and inspiration fora sustainable world,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.
“Progressive climate policy by local governmentscan radically reduce the impact of transport, housing and other high-emittingsectors and deliver greener, healthier and more livable cities and homes forpeople.”
The One Planet City Challenge was designed byWWF to mobilise action and support from cities in global climate efforts,including the goals now set forth by the Paris Agreement.
Open for participation to cities in 25 countries this year, the competitioninvites interested cities to register at the carbon Climate Registry (cCR), theleading global climate reporting platform for local and subnational governmentsmanaged by ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability.
"Active reporting is an important way for local governments to prove theyare major players in global climate efforts," said Gino Van Begin,Secretary General of ICLEI. "Since the carbon Climate Registry waslaunched, we have seen over 700 cities, towns, states and regions from acrossthe world reporting more than 6,100 mitigation and adaptationcommitments."
Last year, for the first time, Vietnam had Huejoin the City Challenge and also be one of 18 in the world to be a NationalEarth Hour City. To gain that honour, Hue submitted a target of decreasinggreenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2011 emission levels by 2020, alongwith six action plans focusing on urban greening, green tourism development,effective disposal of trash and wastewater, intelligent public lightingsystems, renewable energy and use of environmentally friendly constructionmaterials.
This year, Da Nang, Hoi An city in Quang Nam provinceand Dong Ha city in Quang Tri province have committed to enter the OPCC2017-18.
Commitments and action plans for each city willbe developed and ready to be submitted this September, with technical supportfrom WWF-Vietnam.
“We feel so proud and inspired by the commitmentand passion of these cities towards low-carbon development, which is now aglobal trend, and also welcome more cities joining WWF in the OPCC 2017-2018.
“We have always admired other cities such asAmsterdam for its innovative policy to encourage public transportation or Seoulfor its remarkable ambition in using renewable energy, but now we can be proudthat our cities are already taking concrete action with specific and measurableresults to fight against climate change,” said Pham Cam Nhung, Energy Practicehead of WWF-Vietnam.
Entrants will be evaluated by an internationaljury of experts on areas ranging from urban planning and transport to consumerbehaviour and energy systems. The most ambitious cities will be recognised asnational winners, and, from among these, one city will be crowned the globalwinner of the One Planet City Challenge.
WWF will profile the winning cities’ achievements in a global digital campaigndesigned to strengthen public support for city-led climate action.
This year marks the 5th anniversary of the competition, formerly known as theEarth Hour City Challenge, which has engaged over 320 cities across fivecontinents since its inception.
Submissions will be evaluated on the below criteria outlined by WWF.
There will also be a special focus on level of ambition and ability to deliveron commitments and transformational change; ability to integrate actions intocoherent and overarching climate action plans; determination to align with atransparent, science-based GHG emission reduction trajectory; and innovativeapproaches to addressing urban mobility.-VNA
A WWF statement on March 22 said cities generate70 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, and WWF’s One Planet City Challengeis a biennial competition that recognises and rewards cities for developinginfrastructure, housing, transport and mobility solutions to power the globaltransition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
“Cities can be the blueprint and inspiration fora sustainable world,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.
“Progressive climate policy by local governmentscan radically reduce the impact of transport, housing and other high-emittingsectors and deliver greener, healthier and more livable cities and homes forpeople.”
The One Planet City Challenge was designed byWWF to mobilise action and support from cities in global climate efforts,including the goals now set forth by the Paris Agreement.
Open for participation to cities in 25 countries this year, the competitioninvites interested cities to register at the carbon Climate Registry (cCR), theleading global climate reporting platform for local and subnational governmentsmanaged by ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability.
"Active reporting is an important way for local governments to prove theyare major players in global climate efforts," said Gino Van Begin,Secretary General of ICLEI. "Since the carbon Climate Registry waslaunched, we have seen over 700 cities, towns, states and regions from acrossthe world reporting more than 6,100 mitigation and adaptationcommitments."
Last year, for the first time, Vietnam had Huejoin the City Challenge and also be one of 18 in the world to be a NationalEarth Hour City. To gain that honour, Hue submitted a target of decreasinggreenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2011 emission levels by 2020, alongwith six action plans focusing on urban greening, green tourism development,effective disposal of trash and wastewater, intelligent public lightingsystems, renewable energy and use of environmentally friendly constructionmaterials.
This year, Da Nang, Hoi An city in Quang Nam provinceand Dong Ha city in Quang Tri province have committed to enter the OPCC2017-18.
Commitments and action plans for each city willbe developed and ready to be submitted this September, with technical supportfrom WWF-Vietnam.
“We feel so proud and inspired by the commitmentand passion of these cities towards low-carbon development, which is now aglobal trend, and also welcome more cities joining WWF in the OPCC 2017-2018.
“We have always admired other cities such asAmsterdam for its innovative policy to encourage public transportation or Seoulfor its remarkable ambition in using renewable energy, but now we can be proudthat our cities are already taking concrete action with specific and measurableresults to fight against climate change,” said Pham Cam Nhung, Energy Practicehead of WWF-Vietnam.
Entrants will be evaluated by an internationaljury of experts on areas ranging from urban planning and transport to consumerbehaviour and energy systems. The most ambitious cities will be recognised asnational winners, and, from among these, one city will be crowned the globalwinner of the One Planet City Challenge.
WWF will profile the winning cities’ achievements in a global digital campaigndesigned to strengthen public support for city-led climate action.
This year marks the 5th anniversary of the competition, formerly known as theEarth Hour City Challenge, which has engaged over 320 cities across fivecontinents since its inception.
Submissions will be evaluated on the below criteria outlined by WWF.
There will also be a special focus on level of ambition and ability to deliveron commitments and transformational change; ability to integrate actions intocoherent and overarching climate action plans; determination to align with atransparent, science-based GHG emission reduction trajectory; and innovativeapproaches to addressing urban mobility.-VNA
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