Urban-Act: Integrated Urban Climate Action for low-carbon & resilient cities

Urban-Act supports a transformation towards low-carbon and resilient urban development in the Asia-Pacific. The project assists its government partners to align policies, regulations, and services for urban development with climate and sustainability targets. The project invests in knowledge transfer to strengthen the capacities of institutions, decision makers and technical staff. At the local level, the project supports 14 pilot cities to integrate climate change into urban plans and budgets. Cities are enabled to identify targeted measures for GHG emission reduction and resilience building related to urban mobility, urban environment, building or circular economy and leverage finance for the preparation and implementation of urban climate actions. At the Asia-Pacific level, through UNESCAP and UCLG ASPAC, the project supports advocacy through intergovernmental and city-to-city dialogue and facilitates knowledge sharing to enable scaling-up of projects results and good practices.

Project data

Countries: China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand
IKI funding: 22,625,000.00 €
Included preparation phase: 354,031.24 €
Duration: 04/2022 till 12/2027
Status: open
Political Partner: Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) - Philippines

Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning (DPT) - Thailand

Ministry of Ecology and Environment - China

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) - India

Ministry of Natural Resources - China

Office of the Permanent Secretary for interior

State Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) - Indonesia
Implementing Partner: Chulalongkorn Universität - Thailand

Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center, Inc. (Clean Air Asia) - Philippinen

Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (iCSC) - Philippines

National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) - China

National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

Shanghai Urban Planning Development & Research Institute (SUPDRI) - China

Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) - Thailand

Thammasat University

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) - India

Tongji University (TJU) - China

TU Dortmund University (TUD) - Deutschland

United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific(UCLG ASPAC)

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) - Thailand

Universität Stuttgart - Deutschland

World Meteorological Organisation

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State of implementation/results

Delegates from Urban-Act partner countries engaged in major regional forums such as the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, the ASEAN Governors and Mayors Forum (AGMF), and ESCAP intergovernmental forums. The 81st ESCAP Commission Session adopted a landmark resolution on resilient urban development, while AGMF 2025 concluded with the Kuala Lumpur Sustainable Declaration on Localising the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
Regional studies on governance, land-use planning, and climate finance were completed, providing benchmarks across the partner countries and guiding future climate action at city level.
Urban-Act launched e-learning on Climate Finance & Project Preparation (68 graduates), SDG Localization & Climate Action Synergies (54 graduates), and training on gender and inclusive urban development. The “Climate Conscious Cities” webinar series as a regional knowledge hub for climate-smart urban transformation surpassed 4,000 subscribers by August 2025.

Urban-Act advanced low-carbon city dialogues at the 11th Sino-German Mayors Roundtable (Apr 2025) and Sino-German City Summit (Jun 2025), engaging 130 representatives from 24 cities in China and Germany on decarbonization and urban innovation.
Studies covering issues such as urban carbon accounting and bus system optimization captured Chinese experiences for sharing through South-South knowledge exchange.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) released two flagship knowledge products: “Pathways for Mainstreaming Urban Climate Actions” and “Vibrant Public Spaces I Want to Visit” showcasing 50+ Water & Parkscapes from India’s Smart Cities Mission” and an Illustrative Booklet: “Do you live in a Climate Smart City?” launched at World Habitat Day by MoHUA presented complex climate concepts in accessible visual formats for municipal officials.
Urban-Act supported Himachal Pradesh’s Information, Education and Communication campaign on Municipal Solid Waste and a World Environment Day campaign on plastic pollution with school children in Panaji.-- District-level trainings on integrated waste management engaged 530 participants across 68 municipalities; trainings on climate finance and budgeting were held in Coimbatore and Panaji.
Policy dialogues in Chennai, Goa and Himachal Pradesh explored embedding climate resilience and low-carbon pathways in urban planning frameworks.

Urban-Act supported Padang and Medan in 2024 to identify investment-ready municipal waste projects and strengthen climate financing. Case studies undertaken by ESCAP analysed the enabling conditions for cities’ access to climate finance.-- Training in Padang contributed to mainstreaming gender and social inclusion in public transport; Urban-Act backed the integration of the Climate Action Plan into Padang’s Mid-term Development Plan.
South-South cooperation was promoted through Shenzhen Bus Group’s technical support to Padang and Medan on bus system planning and bus electrification.

Policy dialogues with government and civil society addressed circular economy, transport planning, monitoring, and enabling conditions for climate-sensitive urban development.-- Antipolo advanced its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan; Bacolod submitted project proposals on waste and renewable energy; Tagbilaran partnered with Landbell Group to pilot scalable plastic waste models.-- The Sustainability Solutions Exchange showcased sustainable food systems and green innovation, launching the Green Economy Platform.

Experts from TU Dortmund and the University of Stuttgart conduct research and trained Chiang Mai officials and academics.
With support from the WMO, the Thai Meteorological Department piloted urban climate services in Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, and Phuket, producing hazard maps for adaptation planning.-- South-South cooperation included Tongji University’s technical support on Ecological Spatial Planning and Thai study visits to Penang and Singapore on nature-based solutions, water, and urban design.

Latest Update:
12/2025