26 August 2019 —Participants from all over the world are preparing to attend Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2019 (APCW 2019, 2-6 September) in Bangkok, where they will discuss ways to raise regional and global ambition to tackle climate change.
Raising ambition is crucial to grasp the many opportunities of climate action and to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, which are becoming increasingly costly for the region.
A report published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) published last week sets out how recent disasters in the Asia-Pacific Region, especially those triggered by climate change, have deviated from their usual tracks and are growing in intensity, frequency and complexity.
Annual economic loss for Asia and the Pacific from such disasters is meanwhile USD 675 billion, or around 2.4 per cent of the region’s GDP.
The High-Level Segment of Asia-Pacific Climate Week will be attended by senior government and UN officials including Ambassador Peter Thomson, United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean.
Among the civil society representatives speaking at the high-level plenary on 4 September will be Thai youth advocate Ms. Punyapha Visavakornvisisd, who runs the environmental awareness-raising organization YouthEN.
The results of Asia-Pacific Climate Week will feed into the outcome of the Climate Action Summit convened by the Secretary-General António Guterres on 23 September in New York and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Chile in December, thereby boosting ambition and accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Discussions in Bangkok will focus on five of the nine Climate Action Summit’s tracks: energy and industry transition; infrastructure; cities and local action; resilience and adaptation; and nature-based solutions.
Asia-Pacific Climate Week Will be Fully Climate Neutral
The organizers of Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2019 are making the conference as sustainable as possible, and fully climate neutral.
The sustainability measures include offsetting all unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions from air travel to and from the meeting. Air travel is responsible for the lion’s share of emissions at international gatherings.
The offsetting will be done by purchasing certified emission reduction credits from the UN Mechanism - Clean Development Mechanism.
In addition, the UN’s Climate Neutral Now initiative will offer organizations, companies and individuals the possibility to compensate their own greenhouse gas emissions not related to Asia-Pacific Climate Week by purchasing UN-certified offsets.
More details about the sustainability of the conference can be found here.
Briefings for journalists
A webinar for journalists who are covering Asia-Pacific Climate Week will be held on 27 August at 17:00 Bangkok time. To register, click here.
A press briefing is planned for 4 September at UNESCAP, the conference location, at 14:30.
Opportunities to showcase action in the Asia-Pacific region
In parallel to the agenda of events, climate actors from around the region are showcasing groundbreaking climate solutions through the following ways of engagement:
- Side Events provide opportunities for organizations to conduct a session on topics aligned with the agenda of the 2019 APCW.
- An Action Hub provides a platform to showcase innovative climate action and ideas on a stage in the centre of the exhibition space (each slot lasts 15-30 minutes).
- Exhibition Booths provide opportunities for organizations to showcase their work throughout the APCW.
- A Knowledge Corner provides NGOs, youth organizations and educational institutions with a shared booth to exhibit their work.
Interested organizations can apply here.
The meeting’s agenda is available online here.
Registration for the Asia-Pacific Climate Week 2019 is possible here.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL CLIMATE WEEKS
Organized every year in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific, the Regional Climate Weeks are unique collaborative platforms for government and non-Party stakeholders to address the full spectrum of climate issues under one umbrella and unity of purpose. The central aim is to bring together diverse stakeholders in the public and private sectors around the common goal of addressing climate change.
APCW ORGANIZERS
Organized by the United Nations Climate Change in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and other international and regional organizations, which include the United Nations Environment Programme, the UNEP DTU Partnership, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the International Emissions Trading Association, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the Climate Technology Centre and Network.
MORE INFORMATION
- For further questions on how to get involved, contact the climate week team at Climate-Week@unfccc.int
- For media enquiries ahead of the meeting, contact the UN Climate Change’s secretariat in Bonn at press@unfccc.int
- For media enquiries in Bangkok, contact ESCAP Public Information Officer: Kavita Sukanandan, sukanandan@un.org
- UN Climate Change media focal point on location as of 2 September: John Hay, jhay@unfccc.int.
- To learn more, visit www.regionalclimateweeks.org
- Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #APClimateWeek
