24 April 2016, Jeju, Republic of Korea – CIFAL Jeju convened twenty-two government officials (central, state and local), NGO workers and private company representatives from fourteen different countries in the Asia-Pacific region for a four-day workshop on "Green Energy and Sustainable City Planning." CIFAL Jeju, in collaboration with Green Technology Center (GTC), International Electric Vehicle Expo (IEVE) and UNEP International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), held the event from 21 to 24 March 2016 at International Convention Center Jeju (ICC Jeju).

Countries and regions represented in the workshop included Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Taiwan Province of China. The event served as a platform to build capacities in green energy and sustainable city planning including green and renewable energy options as well as challenges and opportunities for applying sustainability concept in an economic, social and environmental context. The workshop program included some sessions of the 3rd International Electric Vehicle Expo, which was held in Jeju from 18 to 24 March 2016, in order for participants to witness and check the latest trend of world’s electric vehicle market.

The workshop was led by nine experts on green energy and sustainable city planning: Mr. M J Jayavilal Fernando from Dompe Central Environment Authority, Sri Lanka; Mr. Hirofumi Yasukawa from Osaka City Environment Bureau, Japan; Dr. Mr. Jeong-in Kim from Chung-Ang University, Korea; Dr. Mr. Hyung-ju Kim from GTC, Korea; Dr. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Memon from UNEP IETC; Dr. Mr. Ali Gul Qureshi from Kyoto University, Japan; Mr. Gyeong-min Roh from Korindor Group, Indonesia; Dr. Mr. Dowon Shun from Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER), Korea; and Dr. Mr. Ki-hae Yang from Segi Environment Co. Ltd., Korea.

The lecture focused on key topics including green transportation policies and planning; green infrastructure development; green and renewable energy; waste-to-energy; waste management; electric vehicle; power supply using biomass; and wastewater management.

The workshop was highly dynamic including a joint forum on “Renewable Energy and Sustainable Tourism for Green Cities” which enabled participants to explore in-depth knowledge related to green energy options and MICE event best practices. The workshop concluded with a visit to “Korea Institute of Energy Research Jeju Global Center,” “Smart Grid Information Center” and “Seongsan Ilchulbong” (UNESCO World Natural Heritage) in Jeju.

Photo: Participants of the workshop "Green Energy and Sustainable City Planning", organised by CIFAL Jeju