The Kaohsiung ICLEI Community of Practice: When bold cities collaborate

What happens when bold cities, breakthrough ideas, and regional collaboration come together with purpose? You get a blueprint to accelerate climate neutrality and smart city solutions.

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That's exactly what the Kaohsiung–ICLEI Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Community of Practice (ComP) is designed to deliver. This two-year initiative (2025–2026) brings together leading cities, towns, provinces, and subnational states from East Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions to actively collaborate to accelerate climate neutrality and smart city solutions in the region.

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The ComP aims to equip participants with cutting-edge tools, knowledge exchange, and strategic networking to drive urban transformation.The ComP officially launched on 18 March with its first in-person capacity-building workshop series hosted by Kaohsiung City, the Chair of the Community of Practice. This milestone gathering welcomed city representatives from Yokohama and Kyoto (Japan), Batangas and Iloilo (Philippines), Newcastle (Australia), and an expression of interest from Goyang City (Republic of Korea) to join the ComP.

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Held at Kaohsiung's pioneering Net-Zero Institute, which has trained over 3,000 professionals in net-zero technology and practice since 2023, the two-day workshop offered participants hands-on training in public-private partnerships, circular economy strategies, and  agenda-serving innovation tools tailored for climate action.