Under the framework of the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2018, ICLEI East Asia and the Eco Forum Global Secretariat co-organized the session “Building Green Circular Cities” on June 7th, gathering mayors and high-level representatives from 12 Chinese, Japanese and European cities and a number of partners and potential partners to share their knowledge and experiences on urban circular transitions.

Before the session, Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI, Shu Zhu, Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia, and Konrad Zimmermann, Senior Advisor of ICLEI East Asia had a meeting with Yan Chen, Mayor of the host city Guiyang. On behalf of ICLEI, the global city network of sustainable development, Monika Zimmermann congratulated the city of Guiyang for the 10th anniversary of the Eco Forum Global, and the city’s continuous determination in sustainable development and eco-civilization.

 

Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI had a bilateral meeting with Yan Chen, Mayor of Guiyang City.

 

ICLEI and Eco Forum Global (EFG) renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on enhancing the partnership. Under the renew of MOU – which was signed by Alex Zhang, Director of Eco Forum Global, and Shu Zhu, Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia – the two parties have reached an agreement to heighten bilateral cooperation towards eco-civilization and sustainable development.

 

Shu Zhu (left), Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia and Alex Zhang, Director of Eco Forum Global. 

 

On this occasion, ICLEI East Asia and Circle Economy – an impact organization committed to delivering practical and scalable solutions to transition towards a circular economy – also marked the beginning of a multi-year collaboration. Jointly signed by Harald Friedl, CEO of Circle Economy, and Shu Zhu, Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia, the Partnership will leverage the expertise, experience, and ambition of the two organizations, with the objective to support local governments in decoupling urban economic development from resource consumption and environmental degradation.

 

Shu Zhu (left), Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia, and Harald Friedl, CEO of Circle Economy

 

Yan Chen, Mayor of Guiyang City, warmly welcomed guests and participants during his opening speech at the session and highlighted the transition towards green circular cities being an integral part of urban sustainable development and eco-civilization.

“The new introduced ICLEI 5 Pathways highlights the circular development pathway which promotes new models of production and consumption for sustainable societies. ICLEI has over 20 years of experience in green pubic procurement and has been working closely with the city of Guiyang under the 10YFP on SPP.” said Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability.

“Municipalities around the world are facing server challenges of digesting its waste. The circular approach – redesign, reuse, repair, remanufacture, recycle, and recover could benefit the environment, prosper the economy, and thrive the society” added Alex Zhang, director of Eco Forum Global.

During the session, representatives from Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suining, Liupanshui city (China), Kitakyushu, Yokohama city (Japan), and Turku city (Finland) shared their local experiences on local development of green circular cities; researchers and experts from Circle Economy (the Netherlands), Tongji University (China), and TOMRA Group (Norway) also demonstrated the latest methodologies and knowledge they are ready to apply in supporting local governments’ transition towards circular development.

Representatives from Yokohama and Kitakyushu city (Japan), Global Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development, and business sector of Trinabess and Sitech joined the panel discussion and exchanged insights on how to support cities around the world to move towards green circular cities.

 

Speakers from China, Japan, and Europe participated in the “Building Green Circular Cities” session at Eco Forum Global 2018.

Shu Zhu, Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia, also introduced the Green Circular Cities Coalition – the initiative managed by ICLEI, designated to present cities across the world with an opportunity to become global leaders in urban circular transition. It will provide a platform to connect cities, knowledge partners, solutions providers, and other relevant stakeholders to foster urban circular transition through knowledge and experience exchange, mutual learning, and technical support.

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