Peer Review and Comparative Analysis

To operationalize the North-East Asia Low Carbon City Platform (NEA-LCCP), the 21st Senior Officials Meeting (SOM-21) in 2017 endorsed two complementary activity streams: (a) municipal-level peer reviews to strengthen low-carbon city (LCC) planning and implementation; and (b) a national-level comparative study to examine policy frameworks supporting low-carbon city development.

Under the peer review component, pilot peer review workshops were conducted in Wuhan (2018) and Guangzhou (2019) in China, and Gwangju (2019) in the Republic of Korea. These reviews enabled participating cities to exchange experiences on governance arrangements, sector-specific mitigation measures, and implementation challenges, while generating practical, context-specific recommendations to improve local LCC strategies.

At the national level, a comparative study covering China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea was carried out in collaboration with leading research institutes, including the Innovative Green Development Program (iGDP), the Institute for Global Environmental Studies (IGES), and the Korea Environment Institute (KEI). The study analysed national policy frameworks and institutional arrangements, identified sector- and city-specific good practices, and distilled lessons applicable across the wider North-East Asia subregion. Together, the peer reviews and comparative analysis linked city-level innovation with national policy approaches, creating knowledge that is both practical and transferable.

Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building

NEA-LCCP places strong emphasis on knowledge sharing, peer learning, and capacity building to support cities in advancing low-carbon and climate-resilient urban development.

In parallel, NEA-LCCP has promoted capacity building through science, technology and innovation (STI). In December 2021, a targeted training workshop for Mongolia was organized in partnership with the Climate Change Research and Cooperation Centre (CCRCC), ICLEI East Asia Secretariat, and iGDP. The workshop focused on practical STI-based solutions in areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and air quality management. Training materials were made publicly available through ESCAP, enabling other cities in the subregion to adapt and replicate the approaches. Building on this foundation, STI-based capacity-building activities have since expanded through successive the International Forums on Low Carbon Cities (IFLCC) and related initiatives to address cross-cutting priorities such as digital innovation, demographic change, and urban resilience, in line with evolving regional needs.

In November 2021, the 1st IFLCC was convened virtually in collaboration with Incheon Metropolitan City. The Forum brought together city governments, research institutions, international organizations, and development partners to exchange policy experiences, innovative practices, and emerging challenges related to low-carbon city development. Since 2022, IFLCC has evolved into an annual flagship regional event, with successive editions strengthening cross-city peer learning, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and the dissemination of subregional experiences, while increasingly linking local actions with regional and global climate agendas.

NEA-LCCP Working Group (WG)

To further strengthen coordination and deepen collaboration among cities, research institutions, and regional partners, the NEA-LCCP Working Group (WG) was established following the guidance of NEASPEC Senior Officials. The WG serves as a flexible, multi-stakeholder cooperation mechanism to: facilitate structured knowledge exchange and peer learning on low-carbon and resilient city development; harmonize methodologies and share tools and data relevant to urban climate action; promote cross-border and cross-network collaboration among cities and partners; and enhance the visibility and coherence of NEA-LCCP activities through linkages with major regional and global processes.

The WG supports ongoing and emerging NEA-LCCP activities, including the International Forum on Low Carbon Cities, thematic dialogues, and joint knowledge outputs, while helping to connect policy, science, and practice across North-East Asia.
To support continuous knowledge exchange and coordination among Working Group members and partners, online knowledge and coordination platform has been established under NEA-LCCP. The platform serves as a shared space to access information on activities, events, tools, and selected knowledge resources, and to facilitate collaboration among participating cities and institutions. 

Access the platform here:  LCC online platform