On May 22, the 2024 Chongqing International Sister Cities Cooperation Conference was held on Guangyang Island, Chongqing. At the meeting, a theme exchange meeting attracted representatives from 48 cities in 31 countries around the world. This exchange meeting focused on "urban green development".
Focusing on the core topic of "building green, resilient and inclusive cities", they each shared their practical experience in dealing with climate change and their experience in promoting green transformation.
This meeting, from discussions on energy conservation and emission reduction, to exchanges on ecological protection, from the active participation of citizens, to related issues of international cooperation, not only produced sparks of wisdom, but also allowed us to see that with climate change becoming a global challenge, mutual learning and reference between cities is becoming an indispensable force.
Starting from citizens’ lives and making emission reduction a habit
Addressing climate change is not only the responsibility of the government, nor is it only the responsibility of large companies, but requires the participation of every citizen.
The practice of Hiroshima City, Japan is very representative.
Former Hiroshima Deputy Mayor Kenichi introduced that they have set a goal for themselves to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and have also set a short-term goal of reducing emissions by 46% in 2030 compared to 2013.
In order to achieve this goal, Hiroshima City has held many lectures on global warming for citizens, and has also introduced a points reward mechanism to encourage citizens to choose energy-saving and emission-reduction methods in their daily lives, such as using public transportation and saving electricity.
This kind of behavior breaks down ambitious goals into specific actions and uses incentive mechanisms to stimulate citizens' enthusiasm, making the concept of environmental protection truly integrated into daily life.
Smart tourism “reduces stress” on ecological protection
Seville, Spain, is a popular tourist city. It is also facing pressure. This pressure is brought about by the increase in tourists on the ecological environment.
Juan Bueno, the second deputy mayor of Seville, shared the response methods they have adopted, including setting up a smart tourism office and developing a specialized tourism information system.
This system has the function of monitoring tourist flow. After analyzing the data, it increased the promotion of alternative attractions, thereby effectively dispersing the passenger flow pressure in popular scenic spots.
The adoption of scientific and technological means to provide refined management and guidance of tourism resources not only guarantees tourists' experience, but also provides strong support for the protection of the ecological environment.
Expand green space and reshape urban breathing
For cities with large and dense populations, adding green spaces is key to improving urban resilience and improving residents’ quality of life.
The mayor of North Dhaka, Bangladesh, Muhammad Atiku Islam, was mentioned. Facing the challenges brought about by rapid urbanization, they have plans to build 24 new parks and various green spaces. Currently, 16 parks are under construction.
Furthermore, they have launched a separate initiative called the Zero Bare Land Project, which aims to replant 200,000 trees within a two-year period.
With these measures, this densely populated city is gradually and step by step transformed into a green living home with a "breathing" function.
Similarly, a place called Morgan Hill in California has also set up a special department. This department focuses on studying how to reduce the city's dependence on fossil fuels and promotes green transformation from the perspective of urban structure.
Join hands to build a biodiversity protection network
On May 22, which happens to be the International Day for Biological Diversity, 31 countries and 48 cities participated in the meeting. They jointly issued an "International Sister City Cooperation Initiative for Biodiversity Conservation". This initiative is of far-reaching significance.
This initiative clearly demonstrates that regularizing multilateral and bilateral exchanges and cooperation is an effective way to pool synergy in biodiversity governance and a useful path to achieve the results of uniting efforts in biodiversity governance.
It prompts government departments and enterprises in various cities, as well as scientific research institutions and social groups, to strengthen ties with each other and then support personnel exchanges and visits.
At the same time, the initiative emphasizes the need to strengthen the systematic protection of biological species, increase the intensity of science popularization, and pay attention to cultivating professionals in the field.
More importantly, it advocates the use of emerging technologies to strengthen cooperation between projects, thereby mobilizing the enthusiasm of the whole society, so that the results of biodiversity protection can be realized under the model of joint discussion, joint construction and joint sharing.
From the point-based incentives for citizens in Hiroshima, Japan, to the smart tourism management methods implemented in Seville, Spain; from the large-scale green space expansion in North Dhaka, Bangladesh, to the exploration and practice of energy transition in California cities, to the biodiversity protection initiatives jointly launched by many cities around the world, we can see that cities have different exploration methods and the same vision and goal on the road to coping with climate change.
Cities are learning from each other and collaborating, connecting dot-like green practices into a global sustainable development network.
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