Asia LEDS Partnership Forum 2024 successfully concluded in Bangkok, Thailand

2024-11-23 02:52:29 Events / Trade Shows

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30 August 2024, Bangkok, Thailand – The Asia LEDS Partnership (ALP) successfully concluded its flagship event, the Asia LEDS Partnership Forum 2024, held from 20 to 22 August 2024 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. This year's forum, themed “Towards Decarbonization in the Asia Pacific through 2025 NDCs,” brought together over 160 participants from 32 Asia-Pacific nations, who engaged in crucial discussions aimed at advancing low-emission, climate-resilient development across Asia.

The Forum served as a dynamic platform for country representatives, policymakers, donors, practitioners, and sector experts to collaborate on the latest strategies and practices for achieving ambitious climate goals in the Asia-Pacific region. The discussions covered the enhancement and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), focusing on the energy and transport sectors, particularly in light of the 2025 deadline for the submission of the third round of NDCs.

The inaugural session on 20 August 2024 also witnessed the announcement of the opening of the Competitive Procurement Center (CPC), a knowledge hub based in Bangkok, Thailand. This USAID initiative will serve as a one-stop-service and focal point for the dissemination of global best practices and provision of technical know-how for the procurement of clean technology, clean energy systems, and associated services across Southeast Asia. The CPC will offer essential resources, including case studies, market evaluation, and procurement guidelines customized for regional interests and needs. The CPC Secretariat is hosted by ICLEI South Asia in partnership with CREAGY and SUSCA and advisory support from WRI.
Over the course of the three-day event, participants explored regional cooperative strategies and shared insights from their experiences with NDC planning, financing, and implementation. The Forum featured comprehensive sessions on long-term LEDS vision setting, regional overviews, institutional arrangements, and sectoral roadmap development. A significant portion of the event was dedicated to strengthening sustainable energy & mobility policy framework and regulations, competitive procurement of clean power, financing clean energy, sustainable transport roadmaps, and strategies along with innovation, financing, investment, collaboration and upskilling required for creating an enabling environment for transition towards low carbon mobility.

The key outcomes of the three-day event included:
The alignment of country Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with Long Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) and other national and sectoral development plans is essential.

While focusing on raising the ambition in the next round of NDCs, countries are keen to reflect local contexts, priorities and scale, especially while defining unconditional commitments.

Countries are working towards robust inter-ministerial coordination, and recognise the need to include sub-national governments in the planning process and prioritise aspects of gender, workforce development, inclusion and youth engagement in preparing and implementing NDCs.
The role of domestic financing for NDC implementation, importance of private sector engagement and the need for demystifying and simplifying international finance were emphasised.

Technology transfer is critical for achieving decarbonization goals.

While preparing LT-LEDS, the primary issue countries face is the lack of technical resources and support.

Standardizing data collection, reporting, and transparency both within and across countries is imperative to enhance coordination.

Localised solutions for sustainable transport planning and implementation are key to decarbonising the transport sector, with electric mobility being one of the multiple available options. Many countries are challenged by the rise in private car ownership and low public bus ridership.

Importance of budgeting, private sector involvement, capacity building, and novel approaches to cross-regional cooperation and collaboration were emphasised. Countries were excited to hear of each other’s projects and enthusiastic to work together.
National policies encouraging large scale procurement and deployment of renewable energy, inclusive of varied interest groups, are the immediate need of the hour.

Regional collaboration and learning are required to address all aspects of NDC/:LT-LEDS implementation, especially for improving national policies that would allow for just energy transition.

The event was hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and organized by the Asia LEDS Partnership (ALP), with support from the US department of State’s Global Climate Action Partnership (GCAP), USAID Southeast Asia Power Program (SPP), and the NDC Partnership. Additional support was provided by the United Nations Climate Change Regional Collaboration Centre Asia and the Pacific (RCC Asia Pacific), ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability (South Asia Southeast Asia and East Asia Secretariats), and other partners.
Reflecting on the forum's success, Mr. Emani Kumar, Lead Director ALP & Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI, stated, "The Asia LEDS Partnership Forum 2024 has been instrumental in uniting diverse stakeholders to tackle the pressing challenges of decarbonization. This forum has created a valuable space for collaboration and knowledge exchange, equipping countries with the tools and strategies needed to advance their climate goals and build a more resilient future, focusing on the critical energy and transport sectors."

About the Asia LEDS Partnership (ALP):

The ALP is a voluntary regional network that unites individuals and organizations committed to designing, promoting, and implementing LEDS in the Asia-Pacific region. ALP events emphasize localized need identification, collation of good practices, identification of opportunities, and building synergies for cross-collaboration. These gatherings of Asian policymakers, practitioners, and international experts focus on assessing new technologies, opportunities, tools, and models for effective low-carbon projects, policies, and initiatives. The ALP Forum is regularly convened to share tools, models, approaches, and best practices, enhancing capacity and readiness for planning and implementing NDCs and LT-LEDS in Asia.