During the cold winter days most citizens often idle their car engines for long periods to warm the engine and interior. This unnecessarily wastes fuel, costs money, causes excess engine wear and tear, and produces greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and harmful air pollutants.

Tomoyuki Kimura, Director General of ADB's Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department gave a keynote lecture during the Opening Plenary of the International Symposium on Education and Research in Global Environmental Studies in Asia organized by Kyoto University on 26 November 2019. He presented an overview of ADB's integrated approach that combines finance, knowledge, and partnerships under Strategy 2030 and engaged with experts and scholars in discussions to enhance environmental sustainability in Asia and the Pacific.

This workshop aims to disseminate the findings and technical guidance materials developed during Phase 1 of ADB's Technical Assistance on Supporting the Implementation of Environment Related SDGs in Asia and the Pacific, and disseminate knowledge, experiences and lessons learnt from the Phase 2 in-country subprojects from Mongolia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, and other relevant case studies. It also seeks to agree on the next steps in taking forward this agenda.

The Digital Development Forum aimed to focus on the critical role of digital technology in the operational priorities under ADB’s Strategy 2030. The Forum:

• identified ways to adopt advanced technologies in ADB operations and increase the impact of ADB projects and programs; and
• ensured integration of the Digital Development Action Plan into the operational priorities.