From News Desk
At the Asia Smart City Conference (ASCC) 2025 in Yokohama, the establishment of the Asian Circular Cities Declaration was announced. The Circular Cities Declaration is a framework launched in Europe in 2020, with about 90 European cities participating to date. Signatory cities promote ten commitments set out in the declaration, such as establishing goals and strategies for their local circular transition and sharing practices through the declaration’s network to enhance each city’s circular policies. Until now, no comparable region-wide declaration framework has existed in Asia.
Following the remarks from the Asian cities, Jean-Eric Paquet, Ambassador of the European Union to Japan; F Cleo Kawawaki, Director General, Sectors Department 2, Asian Development Bank; and Christoph Pusch, Program Manager, World Bank Tokyo Development Learning Centre (TDLC) delivered messages of support for and confidence in the initiatives of Asian cities.
Furthermore, a message was also sent by the City of Amsterdam, one of the pioneering cities in promoting the circular economy. Deputy Mayor Zita Pels, responsible for this agenda stated, “Amsterdam strongly supports Yokohama’s vision of a cross-continental alliance of circular cities,” expressing hopes for collaboration between Europe and Asia.
Over the course of two days, a range of sessions was organised by institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute, World Bank TDLC, CityNet, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), and the City of Yokohama. These sessions introduced practical examples from cities related to the conference theme – “Towards a Circular Society.”
In response to calls for support from Asian city leaders and the discussions held during these sessions, ICLEI Japan, the Japanese office of ICLEI, a global networks of local and regional governments, announced the establishment of the Asian Circular Cities Declaration. In addition, organisations such as ICLEI Europe, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, UNESCAP, UNDP, UN-Habitat, CityNet, the World Economic Forum; and Circle Economy expressed their support and expectations for the new declaration framework.
Mayor Yamanaka, who signed the Asian Circular Cities Declaration during the conference stated, “We heard high expectations from many partners for the Asian Circular Cities Declaration, and Yokohama will work tirelessly to encourage more cities to join and expand this movement across Asia.” ICLEI Japan Chair Takemoto also shared his aspirations for managing the declaration framework going forward: “Let us work together to develop circular cities in Asia by making full use of the declaration framework, realising a circular future in Asia and beyond.”
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