27th Annual Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion Working Group on Environment

Date: 31 October – 2 November 2023
Hybrid event (Hanoi, Viet Nam and online)
To join the Policy Dialogue online, click here to register in advance. 

In the light of the IPCC Climate Change Synthesis Report published in March 2023, which outlined the need for sharing best practices, technology, effective policy measures, and mobilizing sufficient climate finance, the 27^th Annual Meeting of the GMS Working Group on Environment will discuss key challenges and possible solutions for facilitating low carbon transitions in the green freight and agricultural sectors, and discuss the implementation of new technologies for climate action and environmental sustainability across the region. 

Deployment of digital technologies for climate action and environmental sustainability is a high priority across the subregion, as presented in the recent GMS Green Technology Needs Assessment developed under the GMS Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program. Mitigation actions, as presented in the Nationally Determined Contributions by each GMS country, encompass important targets and actions, many relating to the transformation of the energy, housing and transportation sectors, improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption, changing transportation models, promoting renewable energy sources, as well as through promoting low-carbon agriculture practices.  

However, there is still an urgent need for setting even more ambitious targets and roadmaps for carbon reduction, to enable a faster transformation towards a climate resilient and environmentally sustainable GMS. The Annual Meeting will serve as a platform to further that goal through the exchange of national strategies, and through jointly identifying priority actions and opportunities for GMS-wide regional cooperation.

 

Objectives

1. To share national priorities, strategies, and road maps of the GMS countries for deploying new innovative and digital technological solutions and facilitating low carbon transitions in the green freight and agricultural sectors.
2. To discuss and to agree upon priority actions for regional cooperation under the CCESP to enhance the use of digital technologies and facilitating low carbon transitions in the transport and agricultural sectors in the GMS.

 

Target Participants

Target participants for the Annual Meeting include representatives of the GMS Working Group on Environment, with speakers representing relevant national agencies responsible for climate resilience, environmental sustainability and low carbon transitions in the transport and agricultural sectors, key development partners, representatives from civil society, private sector and academia, as well as regional and national ADB staff.

 

Contact

• Mr. Jens Christian Riise, Senior Consultant, at jcri@ramboll.com
• Ms. Pareena Prayukovng, Deputy Team Leader, at pareena@ngobiz.org

Regarding the sessions on digital technologies for climate action and environmental sustainability:

• Mr. Andy Brahney, Thematic Lead for Theme 5, at andy.brahney@ramboll.com

Regarding the sessions on low-carbon transitions:

• Mr. Erik Hedman, Thematic Lead for Theme 2, at erik.hedman@ramboll.se

 

About the GMS Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program (GMS CCESP)

The technical assistance (TA) GMS Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Program (CCESP), was approved by ADB to support the implementation of the Strategic Framework and Action Plan. This is the third and current phase of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Core Environment Program (CEP). The CCESP Program, to be implemented in 202-2025, targets three outputs, each covering two themes:

1. Climate and disaster resilience enhanced (Theme 1), and low carbon transitions facilitated (Theme 2)
2. Climate-smart landscapes promoted (Theme 3), and environmental quality enhanced (Theme 4)
3. Green technologies (Theme 5) and financing instruments demonstrated (Theme 6)

The above six themes were prioritized by the GMS WGEs during the 24^th GMS WGE Annual Meeting in 2019. The TA aims to help develop climate-friendly projects in the GMS regional investment framework (RIF) through enhancing capacities and enabling policies, demonstrating innovative activities, and catalyzing private sector opportunities.