The two-week long 24^th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or COP24 witnessed attendance of more than 22,000 participants from governments, UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organisations, civil society organisations and media, indicating global significance of the conference. ICLEI had a strong presence in the conference and ICLEI South Asia participated in several discussions and side events.

Stakeholders Discuss Low Carbon and Climate Resilient City Development in India

ICLEI South Asia supported National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to hold a session on ‘Climate Smart City Initiative in India’ at a side event of COP24. The session showcased best practices from Indian cities on ways to integrate low carbon development and climate resilience in urban planning. The discussions revolved around mainstreaming climate actions in cities by distinguished representatives from government, private and non-governmental sectors on mainstreaming climate actions in cities.

CDKN: The Start of a ‘Big Conversation’ on Communicating Climate Change

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) team shared approaches for communicating on climate action. Effective engagement through conversations with journalists and communication professionals, climate change programme managers and government delegates was the focus. This is part of an initiative to support a ‘big conversation’ on climate action in CDKN’s focal countries and across developing regions. ICLEI South Asia is the Asia Coordinator for CDKN.

Water Resource Conservation and Management for Climate Resilient Development

ICLEI South Asia was invited by the Ministry of Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to showcase experiences from the Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) project, implemented in India, during a side event at the India Pavilion of COP24. This session witnessed experts discussing diverse challenges in water resources sector in India and identifying possible solutions for them.

Sustained Cross-Country Learning and Collaboration through Regional Communities of Practice for NDC Implementation

The NDC Partnership and Government of Vietnam conducted a side event on ‘Sustained Cross-Country Learning and Collaboration through Regional Communities of Practice for NDC Implementation'. The session intended to showcase country progress and lessons learned on enabling frameworks for NDC and LEDS implementation. It highlighted services, approaches and opportunities for participation in LEDS GP regional communities of practice among other goals. This event was convened by the Asia LEDS Partnership, hosted by ICLEI South Asia in partnership with ICLEI South East Asia and ICLEI East Asia, along with the LEDS Global Partnership (LEDS GP) and other regional partnerships of the LEDS GP.

Climate-Resilient Urban Infrastructure: The G20 Adaptation Work Programme

In a session focusing on 'Climate-Resilient Urban Infrastructure - Contributions from Insurance, Science, Civil Society and Local Actors', Mr. Emani Kumar, Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia spoke on the role that local governments play in the same. The session aimed at increasing awareness on the significance of climate resilient infrastructure and the mechanism to implement the same.

Capacity-Building for Achieving Low Emissions and Climate Resilient Strategies in Cities

The session, organised by ICLEI World Secretariat, aimed to present specific policy proposals to address capacity building gaps and needs relevant to the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the context of the Paris Agreement and engagement of all levels of government. ICLEI South Asia provided an overview of ICLEI's role in promoting sustainable development in cities and highlighted several tools that have been developed by ICLEI to support climate informed action and sustainable development initiatives.

Decoding Katowice Climate Package: What it Means for South Asia

The COP24 concluded on the 15^th of December, 2018, a day later than expected with the adoption of the ‘Katowice Climate Package’. A detailed rulebook was finalised which defines nations’ responsibilities for implementing the Paris Agreement, reporting their progress and enhancing their efforts in future. The Katowice Climate Package has prepared the ground for countries to move forward and operationalise the Paris Agreement.

Documenting Goa's Rural Biodiversity

Continuing the work on development of People's Biodiversity Registers in 10 villages in Goa, the team from ICLEI South Asia conducted extensive biodiversity surveys in all the villages. These surveys helped to document the biodiversity in these villages along with traditional ecological knowledge associated with the various species.

Citizen Engagement for Climate Resilient City Action Plan in Siliguri

A citizen engagement event was organised by ICLEI South Asia and National Institute of Urban Affairs in Siliguri. As part of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation funded CapaCITIES project, the Climate Resilient City Action Plan for the city has been prepared identifying a list of possible interventions for building climate resilience in the city. The same has been ratified and accepted by the city through a Council Resolution in September 2018. The engagement event informed the citizens about the climate action plan.

Financing NDC Implementation through Blended Finance and Green Bonds

Asia LEDS Partnership (ALP), hosted by ICLEI South Asia in partnership with ICLEI South East Asia and ICLEI East Asia, and LEDS Global Partnership (LEDS GP) Finance Working Group with funding support from SDC organised a workshop on ‘Financing NDC Implementation through Blended Finance and Green Bonds’ at New Delhi. The workshop was supported by several knowledge partners including UNDP Asia Pacific, cKers Finance, Climate Bonds Initiative, GIZ China, GGGI India, ADB and ReNew Power. The workshop brought together the state and non-state actors from a number of Asian countries to discuss innovative financing mechanisms for implementing NDCs.

Scoping Study in Panaji under INTERACT-Bio Project

As part of the BMU supported INTERACT-Bio project, a scoping study was undertaken in Panaji, Goa. The study was coordinated by Dr. Julian Rode from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Germany. The scoping process included detailed interactions with subject matter specialists, Goa State Biodiversity Board and officials of the city corporation. The inputs from these meetings and information collated from secondary literature review were discussed in a workshop. The scoping report will help to propose nature-based solutions and initiatives for biodiversity conservation in Panaji.

Eighth Regional Workshop on Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: The Urban Nexus

The Eighth Regional Workshop on ‘Integrated Resource Management in Asian Cities: the Urban Nexus’ financed by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was held at Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UN ESCAP) in partnership with Regional GIZ and ICLEI South East and South Asia. The workshop aimed to tap innovation and broaden stakeholder engagement, particularly with the academic and private sectors, to help build the business model for urban nexus initiatives.

The 3^rd International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC 2019)

The theme of the conference, to be held in Kuala Lumpur from 21^st to 22^nd of February 2019, is ‘Adaptation and Mitigation in Practice: Local and Global Innovations’. The conference will gather leading ecologists, chemists, physicists, biologists, material scientists, biomedical researchers, engineers, social workers and other researchers around the world who are active at the frontiers of this diverse and multidisciplinary field.

World Sustainable Development Summit

World Sustainable Development Summit is held under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with support from the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. It brings together senior political representatives and leading policy makers, researchers and business leaders around the world to deliberate and create solutions towards a sustainable future. The summit will be held from the 11^th to 13^th of February 2019 at New Delhi.