Macau’s international Image: A catalyst for sustainable development in the Greater Bay Area, says ICLEI

Gino Van Begin

Macau, in its roles as an internationalization platform and one of the leading cities of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), has much to gain from assuming a greener and more sustainable approach to its development, Gino Van Begin, the Secretary General of the non-governmental organization Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), said yesterday in an interview on the sidelines of the 2025 Macao International Environmental Co-operation Forum and Exhibition (MIECF).

“I think that Macau has a unique position in terms of the large business cooperation that is possible from here, from the Greater Bay [Area] location, as well as an opportunity to create Macau to become a greener city, a city that is more sustainable and that integrates particular strategies for future carbon climate neutrality in [its] urban policies,” Van Begin said.

“I think that the cooperation that is already ongoing in the Greater Bay Area with Hong Kong, with China, allows for a rapid transformation also from Macau, and the particular international image of Macau can only benefit from a greener and sustainable approach in the city,” he added.

The ICLEI Secretary-General noted that while Macau is not yet part of the network of cities committed to sustainable urban development, low emissions, and nature-based policies, the neighboring region of Hong Kong has already joined.

He believes this could influence the local government to also adhere to these commitments, as part of a group of 2,500 local and regional governments.

“I am certainly extending my invitation to the Macau government to join our network,” Van Begin remarked, adding that through this network, Macau would be in a position to cooperate and exchange, particularly in greener and more sustainable development areas.

Steps back from US can lead China to a more prominent role

Questioned by the media on a topic mentioned earlier during his keynote speech, when Van Begin noted some steps back taken by some countries on the commitment to the policies earlier signed in the Paris Agreement on climate change, Van Begin explained, “One of the countries that has taken an extreme position in this [matter] is the United States of America.”

“After President Trump took office, he declared that he would step out of the climate agreements, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Sustainable Agenda 2030 of the United Nations. So, through his particular approach, stepping out of all those multilateral agreements, he showcased, unfortunately, a step back from international cooperation to international solidarity,” he explained.

He also believes that the US delinking itself from these treaties creates an opportunity for a large economy like China to take a more critical role in leading this process.

“We will see if China is willing to take a more important role. At Brazil at the end of this year [UN Climate Change Conference in November], maybe China can take a more leading role now that the US has backed out from the agreements,” he noted.

“While the United States has a strong economic background, working with other countries worldwide is important because we are all interconnected. Because of globalization, we have a global world of imports and exports. We trade with all countries around the world. In that sense, we also need to take responsibility globally, all of us and all our governments, for the degradation and pollution, and tackle the global issues around climate change as it is happening and impacting any and all of us.”

He remarked that the US’s unilateral decision to step out of the agreements, likely caused by economic reasons, will impact the policy results.

However, he claims that, on the other hand, “the subnational governments in the US are stepping up and preparing already. Many of our members are in the US, and we work with around 600 cities nationwide. They have stepped up to fill the void that the federal government is now creating in the international climate process.”

Carbon Tax works as an incentive to change

Questioned by the media on his opinion on the establishment of so-called “carbon taxes,” the ICLEI Secretary-General said, “I agree. It is good to tax polluting production methods, whether via a carbon tax or a pollution tax. All these taxes are necessary to pay for the pollution or the cost of the pollution that these unsustainable production patterns create. So, implementing carbon taxes is an important part of the incentives to transform and transit to greener production patterns.”