14 October 2021 | TACKLING climate challenge requires collective actions from various parties. UCLG ASPAC is proud to showcase ambitions and actions of cities and local governments that it has engaged, through the European Union (EU)-funded project Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities (CRIC) and as the host of the Global Covenant of Mayors Southeast Asia (GCoM SEA) Secretariat, in the EU-Indonesia Climate Diplomacy Week.
UCLG ASPAC participated in the “Local Authorities as Climate Champions,” attracting almost 130 participants mostly local governments from Indonesia, and countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. The virtual event is part of the annual EU Climate Week that brings forward the theme “Ambition and Action.”
Ms. Henriette Faergemann, First Counsellor – Environment, Climate Action, and ICT at the EU Delegation for Indonesia, opened the session with an uplifting note. “Local governments are climate champions to lead climate actions in cities, thereby contributing to the Paris Agreement,” she said on Thursday (15/10).
The statement rings true as Ms. Faergemann said –referring to the UN-Habitat report- that cities consume 78% of the world’s energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions while occupying just 2% of its land. In Indonesia, she added, the European Union is working on several different programmes to support climate actions in cities. CRIC supports climate action to build a resilient and inclusive future through “dissemination of best practice, knowledge and fostering a long-lasting partnership.”
In light of this, UCLG ASPAC, through CRIC and GCoM SEA, showcased good practices of cities in Indonesia in tackling the climate challenge.
CRIC Pilot Cities
UCLG ASPAC CRIC Programme, focusing on the promotion of sustainable urban development, good governance, and climate mitigation/adaptation, presented good practices of two of its pilot cities (Pekanbaru and Mataram) in tackling the challenge.
Pekanbaru has rolled out several waste management initiatives, one of waste management practices starting from the household level.
Representing Pekanbaru was Vice Mayor Ayat Cahyadi. He presented the City’s strategies and actions to tackle climate change through waste management initiatives. Underlining the tagline “my waste is my responsibility, your waste is your responsibility,” the Vice Mayor said that the City encourages community participation in its waste management effort.
Mataram also faces a waste problem where the City produces almost 70% of organic waste each day. The final disposal site lies 18 kilometres from the city centre.
Speaking on behalf of the City, the First Assistant of Regional Secretary Lalu Martawang, said that the waste transportation cost would place enormous pressure on the local budget. “Imagine that we have to allocate 40 billion for waste management and 32 billion for street lighting. If we can convert waste to bioenergy, we can tackle both waste and energy issues,” he said.
GCoM SEA’s Cities
UCLG ASPAC GCoM SEA, focusing on engagement and training of cities in Southeast Asia to develop the Climate Action Plans (CAPs), presented good practices of Palembang and Malang, pilot cities of the programme’s first phase (2018-2020).
Palembang was represented by the city’s Head of Cooperation Division of Palembang Sri Maryati. She mentioned that according to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory the City conducted, there are 21 sources of GHG emissions, in which settlements are the highest contributor (22% of total emission).
Palembang has committed to reducing its GHG emission to 15% by 2030 and 9% by 2023. The commitment is realised through some mitigation actions, including the campaign for electricity efficiency, introducing renewable energy conversion, promoting 3R of waste management, building city parks, and developing sustainable transportation.
Good practice of Malang was presented by Mayor Sutiaji himself. He showcased a wide array of both mitigation and adaptation actions, including increasing the quality and quantity of open green spaces, developing urban farming, building infiltration wells, and introducing the Climate Village (Kampung Iklim) programme.
“Our paradigm on waste management has shifted to integrated management from upstream (source of waste) to downstream (final processing),” said the Mayor. He also emphasised Malang’s commitment to reduce the amount of household waste to 30% by 2025.
Apart from CRIC’s and GCoM SEA’s cities, Semarang and Bandung also shared their actions to pave a sustainable future. Semarang presented the initiative to build integrated mobility through Bus Rapid Transport while Bandung on the integrated urban farming to boost their city sustainable food system.
Mounting support: policy, tool, capacity, and network
The case of each City demonstrates local leadership and commitment to sparking climate action. The Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s (MoEF) Ratnasari Wargahadibrata shared that the national government supports city climate actions through tools, capacity building, and policy.
“We have SIGN SMART to help cities calculate and report their greenhouse gas emissions; we also have National Registry System to collect data and information on completed mitigation action. We develop these to identify the need of each stakeholder, whether it regards to capacity, technical assistance or technology,” she said.
The event also invited the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs’ Rima Yuliantari Suharin stressing the importance of multi-stakeholder partnership involving local governments, private sectors, civil societies, and local communities. “Cities cannot rely on the local budget to manifest some of the actions that require financing. The key lies in innovation and exploring financing alternatives,” she added.
Irfan Darliazi Yananto of the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) also emphasised the enabling environment provided by the national government. He stated that a Low-Carbon and Climate-Resilient Development has been integrated into the 2020-2024 National Mid-term Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Nasional/RPJMN), which is also an implementation of Article 3.4 UNFCCC. This Development minimises the trade-off between economic development and environmental preservation.
Challenges and way forward
Following the presentations from the representatives from three ministries and six cities, the session proceeded to the discussion session, moderated by Sri Indah Wibi Nastiti, General Manager of Association of Indonesia Municipalities (Asosiasi Pemerintah Kota Seluruh Indonesia/APEKSI).
Responding to a participant’s question on the integration between MoEF’s SIGN SMART and Bappenas’ Aksara, Ms. Wargahadibrata of MoEF said that both systems have not been integrated yet. However, there has been a plan to integrate data from all ministries in the foreseeable future.
Questions on institutionalising waste banks and the economic benefits of climate actions were also raised. Vice Mayor Ayat Cahyadi stated that Pekanbaru has not done so but would consider the idea to be implemented. Mayor Sutiaji shared that the citizens of Malang have also felt the direct benefits of the waste bank, in which citizens can use the money from waste bank to pay electricity and insurance bills.
Closing off the event, UCLG ASPAC Secretary-General Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi further echoed the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation. “It is vital to have an enabling environment -through policies and regulation and integrated reporting mechanism- to support local governments in integrating its climate resilience issue in the planning documents such as Regional Mid-Term Development Planning. We need to collaborate, innovate and work collectively to tackle the climate crisis,” she said.
