COP28: Urban Climate Cooperation for a Green and Thriving Urban Future

• When: 8 December 2023 at 14:45-16:00 (UAE Time)
• Venue: China Pavilion at COP28
• Co-Host: Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC)
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
• Media Partner: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

This event will be broadcast simultaneously through the media partner China Central Radio and Television Station’s English Global Program Center (CGTN)’s all-media platform, including the CGTN website, Weibo, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The edited version of the program will be broadcast on CCTV CGTN TV terminal and CGTN platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, CGTN official website, video account, WeChat, Weibo, CCTV, Bilibili), THouse platforms (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Weibo); CCTV , Wang Guan’s personal social media (Weibo, etc.), the studio’s overseas platform (Facebook public homepage), etc. for broadcast and promotion.

At the same time, the selected content of the event and relevant climate action highlights of participating Chinese C40 cities will be disseminated to C40 global member cities and international audiences through C40’s overseas social media accounts (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, website, internal publications, etc.) Advertise and promote.

The audience invitation will be C40 member cities, and city delegations participating at COP28 in person.  International organizations and NGOs, relevant to urban climate cooperation, will also be invited.

Background and Objective:

The newest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds out climate change is already impacting every corner of the world, and much more severe impacts are in store if we fail to halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade and immediately scale up adaptation.

COP 28 provides an important opportunity for the world to assess our collective progress towards meeting the global climate goals and increase means of climate action implementation to prevent climate breakdown. It also provides an excellent platform for city leaders to showcase their latest climate priorities and best actions.

Cities and mayors play an indispensable role in the implementation of climate action at the sub-national level, with ambitious local plans and tangible actions. At COP28, C40 and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) will convene mayors and city practitioners at China Pavilion to achieve greater recognition, strengthen the economic case and social benefit of climate actions, and provide an unique opportunities for cities from China and the world to discuss potential climate cooperation through:

• Demonstrate urban climate leadership: showcase cities’ latest policy priorities and initiatives in key areas to achieve climate goals, such as energy, buildings, transportation decarbonization, etc., as well as innovative urban climate adaptation initiatives;
• Prove the multiple benefits of urban climate action: The multiple socio-economic benefits brought by urban climate action include but are not limited to green jobs, industrial transformation, technology innovation brought by climate action, such as energy transition, transportation decarbonization, climate risk management, improvement of environmental quality, strengthen the inclusiveness, etc;
• Strengthen mutual understanding and trust for current and future urban climate cooperation to showcase cities’ essential role in champion climate actions.

The dialogue will be conducted in English and Mandarin, with interpretation services in both languages (translation for other languages like Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese could also be arranged based on needs from speakers)

Proposed Agenda

• Keynote Speaker: Keynote speakers: XIE Zhenhua, China Special Envoy for Climate Change / ZHAO Yingmin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities.

The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) is a national people’s organisation engaged in people-to-people diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China. The aims of the Association are to enhance people’s friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common development. On behalf of the Chinese people, it makes friends and deepens friendship in the international community and various countries around the world, lays and expands the social basis of friendly relations between China and other countries and works for the cause of human progress and solidarity. It implements China’s independent foreign policy of peace, observing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, while carrying out all-directional, multi-level and broad-area people-to-people friendship work to serve the great cause of China’s peaceful development and reunification and contribute to the building of a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. In launching its activities, it has support from the government and assistance from all sectors of the society. It has set up 46 China-regional or China-national friendship organisations and established relationships of friendly cooperation with nearly 413 non government organisations and institutions in 157 countries.

China Global Television Network, or CGTN, is an international media organisation launched on December 31, 2016. It aims to provide global audiences with accurate and timely news coverage as well as rich audiovisual services, promoting communication and understanding between China and the world, and enhancing cultural exchanges and mutual trust between China and other countries.

Headquartered in Beijing, CGTN has three production centres, located in Nairobi, Washington D.C. and London, all staffed with international professionals from around the world. Adhering to the principles of objectivity, rationality and balance in reporting, CGTN endeavours to present information from diverse perspectives.

CGTN’s TV channels are available in more than 160 countries and regions worldwide. It also incorporates the video news agency Global Video News Agency. CGTN delivers digital content through CGTN Digital, which is accessible via CGTN.com, CGTN mobile applications, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and other social media platforms, with over 150 million followers across the globe.