Mayor Matteo Biffoni and deputy mayor Valerio Barberis of Prato, Italy, led a delegation to visit the Taichung City Government today (13). Deputy mayor Yu-Min Wang represented Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu at the reception. The two sides discussed the issues of "air quality" and "circular economy". Deputy Mayor Wang expressed her gratitude to the EU for supporting the exchanges between the two cities. She also hoped that the two sides would work together on air quality and circular economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She believed that Taichung and Prato would have more cooperation and exchanges in the future to deepen the friendship between the cities.

Deputy Mayor Wang pointed out that the European Union selected Taichung City to participate in the "International City Partnership" early last year and paired with Prato, Italy, as a partner city. The theme of the project is Action for Green and Inclusive Recovery. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in the past two years, Taichung City and Prato City have held many online meetings through video. The deputy mayor was glad that this year the visiting delegation could come to Taichung City for a face-to-face exchange after the epidemic slowed down under the ICP plan planned by the European Union.

Deputy Mayor Wang mentioned that she has long been concerned about the social environment and health issues since she has been a legislator for eight years. Last year, Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu invited her to serve as the deputy mayor of Taichung City. She was happy to receive foreign guests for the first time to communicate on environmental issues. The deputy mayor hoped that both sides would have a lot of learning, cooperation, and exchange. She also said with a smile that the flight time from Italy to Taiwan is more than 10 hours, and the visiting group would only be staying in Taichung for four days, which is a bit short. She hoped that Mayor Biffoni would arrange to stay for more days next time when he visits Taichung to fully enjoy the sunshine, air, and food here.

Filip Grzegorzewski, Director of the European Economic and Trade Office, wished the city exchange activity was a complete success through the film at today's exchange meeting. Mayor Biffoni said that Prato has a hundred years of experience in the recycling of waste textiles, especially wool textiles. Currently, Prato is facing the challenge of reducing urban carbon emissions, while Taichung has done an excellent job in urban greening. He was happy to come to Taichung to learn the relevant experience of urban greening. He also believed the urban greening of Prato would be benefit from cooperation between the two sides.

According to Pedro Sánchez, the representative of the European Commission, Taichung and Prato are facing similar environmental challenges, and how to implement a green energy transition is an issue of great concern to both cities. The European Union hopes to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. It believes that cities are like engines, the beginning of all changes, when it comes to promote green energy transformation and carbon emission reduction. Therefore, it is encouraging exchanges between the two cities. The EU is also happy to provide technical assistance in addition to knowledge support. It hopes that the through the cooperation project, the two cities will develop better and achieve a greater environmental impact.

Hong-Yi Chen, Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau, stated that Taichung City's participation in the "International City Partnership Program" was initiated by the Director of the European Economic and Trade Office, Filip Grzegorzewski, when he visited Mayor Lu in 2021. After the exchange theme was selected, the EU matched Taichung City and Prato. The two cities held seven video conferences on "air quality" and "circular economy" topics. He pointed out that Prato is known for the recycling wool-based textiles, and Taichung can recycle PET bottles into clothes. Many of the players' jerseys for this year's World Cup are made in Taiwan. The city government arranged the visit itinerary for the delegation to observe how Tzu Chi is, through Da Ai Technology Co., Ltd, recycled PET bottles into textiles, especially sports jerseys. In addition, the city government also arranged for the delegation to visit Maple Garden, Heart Valley Showroom, the Wastewater Treatment Plant at Central Taiwan Science Park, etc., all of which have the meaning of the sustainable concept, technology sharing, and environmental education. On the 15th, the city government will also hold an environmental protection workshop at the Splendor Hotel Taichung, inviting industry, government, and academia from the two cities to exchange and discuss topics.

Deputy Mayor Valerio Barberis said that his primary reasonability is the urban planning and development of Prato. The delegation members also invited wastewater treatment experts, hoping to learn how to improve the city's metabolism. The European Union hopes to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and has selected 100 European cities to join the plan, and Prato is one of them. The urban greening of Taichung City is among the best in the world, while the urban greening of Prato City is ahead of other cities in Italy. However, Prato has much to learn from Taichung City. He thanked the Taichung City Government for this opportunity to exchange experiences in Taichung.

The distinguished guests who visited the city hall today included mayor Matteo Biffoni, deputy mayor Valerio Barberis, president of the Industrial Wastewater Management Agency Alessandro Brogi, Professor Leonardo Borsacchi of the University of Florence, and the European Union Ramón López Sánchez, policy coordinator for International Relations at the DE REGIO. Deputy mayor Wang, director of the Environmental Protection Bureau Hong-Yi Chen, deputy director Wen-Lin Shang, and others received those distinguished guests jointly. After the meeting, deputy mayor Wang presented mayor Biffoni with a wooden Mid-Lake Pavilion lacquer plate and local pastries. The atmosphere of this meeting was warm and harmonious.