Training, dialogue, and peer exchange fuel local energy transitions in Thailand and Malaysia 

(in photo above) Participants from Thailand (top) and Malaysia (bottom) during the in-person RENEW-SEA capacity building activities conducted from April to May, 2025.   From heritage-rich Chiang Mai to the growing urban landscape of Melaka, Southeast Asian local governments are strengthening their role in the renewable energy transition.  ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability recently rolled […]

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ICLEI highlights need for data, competency-based capacity building for local climate action plans at ADB forum

Mae Valdez-Irong (leftmost), ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA) Regional Program Manager, shares recommendations for cities implementing their climate action plans in a panel discussion with fellow panelist Kristine Lea S. Galon (middle), Quezon City Climate Change and Environmental Education Division Chief, and panel moderator Kristina Katich (rightmost), Senior Urban Development Specialist of the ADB Water and […]

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ICLEI SEA champions lifelong learning for local governments at International Conference in Urban and Regional Planning

(in photo above) Mae Valdez-Irong, ICLEI Southeast Asia Regional Program Manager (facing camera, second from left), and Hon. Abigail Binay, then Mayor of Makati City, Philippines, ICLEI Southeast Asia Representative to the ICLEI Global Executive Committee, and Chair of the ICLEI Innovative Finance Portfolio (facing camera, third from left), served as panelists during the session “Urban […]

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S2Cities showcased at UNESCAP CED-8 through exhibit and talk on youth-led urban development 

(in photo above) The S²Cities program exhibit was part of the Cities for a Sustainable Future cluster during the 8th Session of the Committee on Environment and Development. ICLEI Southeast Asia brought the Safe and Sound Cities (S²Cities) program to the 8th Session of the Committee on Environment and Development (CED-8) organized by the United Nations Economic […]

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Trust and Organizational Alignment Key Elements to Cities’ Climate Policy Learning, Study Finds

You may access the FULL STUDY HERE. Cities eager to adopt better climate policies are learning from one another—but the knowledge gained often stays with individuals and fails to be meaningful for the organizations they represent. That’s one of the key findings from a new study published in the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, […]

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Bridging local ambition and global finance: TAP celebrates 10th anniversary

In 2015, ICLEI launched the Transformative Actions Program (TAP) with a simple but bold purpose: To help subnational governments turn their sustainable development ideas into investment-ready projects. Ten years later, that vision has consolidated into a global platform that has received over 500 applications, connected dozens of local initiatives to technical assistance and financiers, and […]

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