Date: 12 December 2023 Time: 14:00 – 17:30 (GMT: +07:00) Event Language: English
Format: In-person Location: Can Tho City, Vietnam
Organized by: United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP-led Cool Coalition , Clean Cooling Collaborative, DCC, GGGI
Description:
Viet Nam’s rapid urbanization and accompanying fast-paced real estate sector is driving growth in cooling demand and associated emissions. At the same time, heat is now a critical public health issue for many of Viet Nam’s cities and this will worsen with rising temperatures due to climate change. Cities can take comprehensive action through urban planning, enforcement of building standards, raising awareness to citizens, attracting finance, demonstrating sustainable approaches and effectively planning for Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) & increasing cooling demand.
Can Tho is located in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, which experiences a tropical monsoon climate with hot and humid conditions throughout the year. The average temperature is around 28oC, and there is no cold season. Therefore, cooling is essential for the comfort and well-being of the residents and visitors of Can Tho.
One aspect of cooling in Can Tho is the use of air conditioning in buildings. Air conditioning is a common feature in many hotels, restaurants, shops, offices, and homes in Can Tho. However, air conditioning also consumes a lot of electricity and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which can worsen global warming and affect the environment. Therefore, finding ways to improve the efficiency and sustainability of air conditioning is a challenge and an opportunity for Can Tho.
Department of Climate Change (DCC), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) & Can Tho Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) in partnership with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), under the framework of Cool Coalition implementing a project with aim to support Can Tho (i) to adopt UCAP, that integrate action on cooling and extreme heat into a range of municipal plans and masterplans. Interventions will include trainings & capacity building of cities to take action towards improved urban design, nature-based solutions, passive cooling measures, municipal incentives, district cooling and public procurement; (ii) support in mobilizing finance to implement urban cooling demonstrations in pilot cities, project will explore in integrating urban cooling under the existing Environmental Protection Fund (VEPF); integrate cooling into city level policy framework including masterplans and climate change adaptation & mitigation planning.
Objectives:
- Collection of feedback on the list of potential projects and initial results on UCAP (policy, modelling and policy);
- Discussion and exchange on the mechanism for mobilizing financial resources for sustainable urban cooling.