30 June 2020 – Organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), this webinar brought together experts, decision-makers, scientists and researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China and India to share their experiences in responding to climate change. The discussion centered around how Southern cities are using innovative and collaborative approaches in order to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, as well as the role of South-South and triangular cooperation as a catalyst for climate action.
Please click the video to watch the recording.
UNOSSC in partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) recently launched a joint report “City-to-City Partnerships and South-South and Triangular Cooperation on Sustainable Urban Development” that focuses on how cities of the Global South are using innovative, collaborative and evidence-based processes to tackle challenges posed by climate change. The report offers concrete examples of city-to-city partnerships and South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives on urban planning and management, seeking to inspire further action. You can access the report here.
About the Webinar
South-South cooperation and scientific evidence play a critical role to inform and guide decisions related to the global and climate changes that the world is experiencing. The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) continues to scale up efforts to build a global conversation and to engage on a range of issues that are critical to building a sustainable future for all.
The webinar “South-South Cooperation Between Cities for Climate Action” represented an opportunity for scientists and decision-makers to exchange experiences and ideas on: (1) how cities from the South are using innovative, collaborative and evidence-based processes to tackle challenges from climate change; and (2) the role of South-South and triangular cooperation in supporting cities to adapt to climate change in the new reality of life after COVID-19.
Many cities in the Global South are fully committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more resilient, healthy and equitable future.
South-South cooperation can function as a bridge between scientists and decision-makers, now that more than ever decisions must be guided by the best available science. The emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergency of climate change need to be addressed hand in hand at global and local levels in order to build new resilient and sustainable cities for people’s well-being.
Following are the details of the speakers:
- Opening Remarks
- Jorge Chediek, UNOSSC Director and Envoy of the Secretary General on South-South Cooperation (Opening Remarks)
- Marcos Regis Da Silva, Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI)
- Debbie Menezes, Senior Research Advisor, UNOSSC
- Panel presentations
- Moderator’s welcome by Haroldo Machado-Filho, UNDP Brazil
- Jussara Carvalho and Pedro Jacobi, Government of the State of São Paulo, Brazil and University of São Paulo /IAI
- Umamaheswaran Rajasekar, Institute of Urban Affairs, India
- Cristina Huidobro, Metropolitan Regional Government (GORE) of Santiago, Chile
- Dong Wang and Yuan Zeng, Shenzhen Research Center on Climate Change, Shenzen, China
- Patricia Himmschot and Valeria Massy, City Government of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Conclusions by Xiaojun Grace Wang, UNOSSC Deputy Director