Call for Solutions: Green Transitions for Industrial Cities

Deadline: 23-Oct-23

The International Climate Development Institute (ICDI) invites global cities, especially industrial and port cities, to join them in fostering knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer learning and collaboration as cities around the world work together to transition to a green, sustainable and smart future.

This Call for Solutions encourages cities and partners to take significant action against climate change and environmental issues on the three themes of sustainable energy, green living and urban resilience. It invites especially industrial and port cities to share innovative urban strategies, solutions and partnerships that leverage technology, governance or business models to actively promote green behavior in society while fostering a harmonious relationship with the natural environment. In particular, the call aims to stimulate the adoption of smart, adaptable and practical solutions, ensuring that no one is left behind on the journey to a greener future.

Theme

• The main theme of the call is ” Green transitions for industrial cities ” with the following sub-themes:
  • Sustainable Energy
    • Urban solutions that facilitate the transition to smart energy systems in a human-centered, community-based, and environmentally responsible way, while helping cities reduce emissions without sacrificing energy security, economic prosperity, or resident’s well-being. Examples include solutions that focus on:
      • Low-Carbon Industrial Chains: How to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in single or multi-industry parks by introducing low-carbon energy and smart energy management systems?
      • Decentralized Green Energy Generation: How can existing aquaculture and fishing areas be combined with green energy facilities, and how can aquaculture techniques and methods be adapted to ensure production, protect the ecology and biodiversity of fish farms, and provide clean energy and other benefits?
      • Other example solutions include Community-based Energy Management Systems, Data-driven Energy Efficiency Enhancements, Waste to Energy.
  • Green Living
    • Urban solutions that promote digital inclusion, social cohesion, behavioral changes, and environmental health through developing smart, sustainable, inclusive, low-carbon infrastructure, fostering vibrant ecosystems and living environments, and re-aligning green incentives for citizens. Examples include solutions that focus on:
      • Urban Carbon Management Strategy: How to digitally manage carbon budgets at city level, set control targets and promote action plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over a two-year period and develop a carbon budget?
      • Energy-Efficient Buildings: How to develop a database structure for energy management of urban buildings to promote resource optimization and energy efficiency, combining the exchange of talents from construction, engineering and other fields.
      • Low-Carbon Transport: How to apply big data analysis and other intelligent computing technologies to improve the operational efficiency of public transport as a whole, after the integration of different transport modes, and evaluate the effectiveness of its reduction.
      • Energy Efficient Water Reclaim Systems: How can the energy management of reclaimed water production be refined to improve carbon reduction?
      • Low Carbon Food Systems: How innovative technology can be applied to develop feed formulations and feed additives for livestock and poultry that are suitable for carbon emission and methane reduction while maintaining feed price, formulation efficiency, livestock and poultry health, milk, meat and egg performance and quality, and reducing methane emissions from livestock and poultry gastrointestinal fermentation?
      • Low Carbon Communities: What are the practical approaches or promotion models for public private partnerships in building low-carbon communities? For example, spatial greening, plastic and waste reduction, resource recycling and recovery, water environment protection, knowledge promotion and capacity building on energy conservation and carbon reduction, and development of low carbon industries in the community. Beyond regulations and subsidies, what are the effective practices or lessons learned by the public sector in implementing a net zero city?
      • Sustainable Management of Public & Private Forestlands: How to establish a credible methodology to assess the carbon sequestration benefits and the economic value of forest in the process of promoting sustainable forest management, as well as to coordinate the resources of enterprises, establish a cooperative relationship between landowners, enterprises and operators, and then create a feasible carbon credit model, so as to achieve a win-win situation for both ecology and economy?
      • Green Lifestyles: How can the strategy of reducing carbon emissions and increasing carbon storage be integrated into digital government services, and how can the public be guided towards low-carbon adoption through the use of knowledge-based and engaging digital tools?
      • Other example solutions include life cycle assessment and management of buildings, electrified mobility, shared transportation, waste management, circular economy, urban land-use planning, low-impact development, green space, green corridors, ecosystem protection and restoration, biodiversity enhancement, climate-neutral agriculture, etc.
  • Urban Resilience
    • Urban solutions that effectively facilitate long-lasting societal well-being, public health, community adaptation, and a safe city for all in the face of changing environments and societies. Examples include solutions that focus on:
      • Disaster Risk Reduction and Risk Assessment & Forecasting: How to utilize climate services and smart technologies to grasp diversified weather forecast information and enhance water monitoring information for disaster mitigation strategies in response to sudden heavy rainfall.
      • Integrated Water Management Systems: How to manage water for industrial development and human needs?
      • Reducing the Heat Island Effect: Based on the concept of the urban wind corridor, how to adjust the design of existing buildings or set up artificial shading facilities in the city, and how to evaluate the reduction of the heat island effect?
      • Prevention of Infectious Diseases & Heat-related Illnesses: How to apply innovative biological and technological prevention methods (e.g. drones, etc.) and develop specific, feasible and sustainable prevention strategies through interdepartmental integration?
      • Others solutions include Clean Air, Resilient Neighborhoods, Sponge City, Economic Resilience, Nature or Community-based Adaptation, Climate-Smart Agriculture/Aquaculture etc.

Prize Information

• The selected winners will receive:
  • A certificate and gifts for the event, as well as online and offline publicity, including public display of the solution at the 2024 Kaohsiung Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE); and promotion on the Kaohsiung City Government website and related platforms and networks of relevant international city organisations, among others.
• Winners selected as Best Practices will be awarded as follows:
  • Those invited to attend the 2024 Kaohsiung Smart City Summit & Expo will enjoy the following activities Award Ceremony, serving as a speaker at the City COP, VIP Tour Service at the Exhibition, and the provision of a round-trip air ticket for the representative, as well as local transportation and accommodation in Kaohsiung for 6 nights.
  • Collaboration opportunities with Kaohsiung City Government, such as proof of concept, feasibility assessment and cooperation pilots.
• Note: if representatives of the best practice winners are not present at the prize ceremony, they will not receive the prize, and the judges will instead select another solution to recognize as the category winner.

Eligibility Criteria

• The call is open to both public and private sectors worldwide, and proposals from business, government, academia, research institutes, and civil society are encouraged to apply if they meet the following criteria:
  • For public sector applications, the affiliated city should be either a harbor city or possess relevant experience in industrial transformation to green city.
  • The proposed solutions must be the original work of the applicants. Any plagiarized work will be considered invalid and will be disqualified, and the source of the information must be cited if it is quoted.
  • Affiliations of organizers or jury members are not eligible.
  • A single solution cannot be submitted for more than one category.
  • All application documents must be submitted in English.

For more information, visit International Climate Development Institute (ICDI).