Smart Green ASEAN Cities: New initiative to promote sustainable and smart cities in ASEAN
Smart Green ASEAN Cities: New initiative to promote sustainable and smart cities in ASEAN
Today, EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans, Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Ekkaphab Phanthavong, and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Executive Secretary Preeti Sinha kicked off the Smart Green ASEAN Cities programme earlier this week.
With €5.1 million support from the EU from 2021 to 2024, the Smart Green ASEAN Cities (SGAC) programme will assist ASEAN member states in anticipating the substantial pressure from high urbanisation rates by focusing on green and smart solutions through digitalisation and the use of technologies.
Out of ASEAN's population of over 630 million, nearly 300 million people live in urban areas and more than 25% live in cities with over one million inhabitants. In the next 15 years, ASEAN’s urban areas are expected to accommodate another 100 million people.
‘Middleweight’ cities between 200,000 and 2 million are forecasted to drive 40% of the region’s growth. While this expansion reflects the concentration of economic opportunities in urban areas, it also puts high pressure on the environment as well as urban planning for infrastructure and other public services.
In his remarks, Ambassador Driesmans noted that "the kick-off of the Smart Green ASEAN Cities programme elevates the EU-ASEAN relationship even further, entrenching and deepening our partnership to concrete matters at city level, but bound within the spirit of regionalism as an umbrella. The SGAC programme is not only crucial, but also strategic as it aims at supporting sustainable urbanisation in the ASEAN region, reducing the environmental impacts of urban areas, and improving the quality of life of citizens."
"Actions contributing to sustainable and smart cities such as the promotion of energy- and resource-efficient buildings as well as sustainable and smart mobility are important EU policy priorities and key pillars of the European Green Deal," he concluded.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary-General Ekkaphab Phanthavong recognised the growing importance of building stronger collaboration to promote sustainable urbanisation and related that the programme demonstrates the continued ASEAN-EU partnerships on sustainable development.
"We appreciate Team Europe’s renewed commitment to support the region through the ASEAN Green Recovery Platform and the Team Europe Green Initiative. I encourage the EU to further support ASEAN member states and take advantage of this platform in providing both technical and financial assistance to facilitate more effective recovery, build resilience, and promote smarter and greener cities in the ASEAN region," he emphasised.
UNCDF Executive Secretary Preeti Sinha, on her part related that, "the SGAC programme was developed in line with the priority of sustainable and inclusive urbanisation in the ASEAN Community Vision 2025."
She further expressed that, "UNCDF and its partners will make sure that the implementation will contribute directly to the reduction of the environmental and carbon footprints of selected ASEAN cities by enhancing the cities' access to finance and smart solutions for sustainable urbanisation, while promoting energy efficiency, reducing air pollution and contributing to the development of a circular economy."
The SGAC programme is implemented by UNCDF and will facilitate policy development, access to public and private funds, as well as enhance cooperation between cities within ASEAN, and between ASEAN and European cities.
The programme is expected to synergise with other ongoing initiatives in ASEAN, such as the ASEAN Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Cities, the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy, as well as with the EU-supported SMART CHANGE project which facilitates the cooperation between Jakarta, Bangkok, and Berlin.