December 2021 | UCLG ASPAC, host of the Secretariat of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Southeast Asia (GCoM SEA) facilitated a visit of the European Union-funded GCoM Asia Programme to its four selected pilot cities/regencies in Indonesia (Tangerang, North Minahasa, Medan, and Pontianak) to ensure a clearer path for them to move forward and realise their commitment on climate actions.
As the first on-site meeting with the pilot cities, the visit formalised the city leader’s commitment through the signing of the GCoM Commitment Letter and proceeded with further discussion including the establishment of respective Climate Change Working Group in those cities/regencies and programme implementation plan (i.e. capacity building activities) next year. The visits were made by the GCoM Asia Programme team, GCoM SEA Secretariat and CCROM SEAP.
14 December 2021 | Tangerang City
Mayor Arief R. Wismansyah of Tangerang City welcomed the team. Engaged with GCoM commitment as a city network back in 2019, the Mayor has renewed and strengthened its commitment to meet the Paris Agreement objectives. In discussion with the team, he highlighted some climate-related challenges faced by the city, including frequent flooding, lack of open green space, highly-populated settlements, and disintegrated modes of transportation. Initiatives undertaken includes Kampung Iklim, Adiwiyata, Kecamatan Menanam, Kampung Terang, and Bus Tangerang Ayo (Tayo).
Tangerang City is currently developing City’s Climate Change Working Group and plans to start working with the GCoM team next year. The Mayor hopes that the GCoM Asia Programme can support Tangerang City in solving its climate challenges and, at the same time, implementing the Climate Action Plan (CAP).
16 December 2021 | North Minahasa Regency
Signing the commitment letter of becoming GCoM Pilot City, the Regent Mayor Joune James Esau Ganda of North Minahasa expressed his gratitude (virtually) for the selection. “For this reason, North Minahasa Regency will implement policies and take concrete steps to reduce and limit GHG emissions, prepare for the impacts of climate change, increase access to sustainable energy, and follow developments in achieving these goals,” he added.
The Climate Change Working Group (WG) of the North Minahasa Regency is still being developed and will only come into force next year. However, the potential members of the WG working group were present at the meeting to be involved in the discussion of the work plan GCoM Asia implementation in North Minahasa.
20 December 2021 | Medan
Receiving the team was City Secretary, Mr. Wiriya Alrahman, representing Mayor Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution, who has previously signed the GCoM Commitment Letter. Mr. Wiriya mentioned that Medan City’s commitment to the environmental issues is manifested in the revised Medium-term Development Plan (RPJMD) and expressed his gratitude for being chosen as one of the pilot cities of the GCoM Asia Programme.
Head of the Built Environment and Spatial Planning Division of the Local Board of Development Planning of Medan City, Mr. Willy Irawan, presented the climate-related issues faced by the City and the solutions the City has undertaken. Mr. Willy also mentioned that through “Medan Membangun or Medan Develops,” the city aims to build facilities and infrastructure and consider environmental issues at the same time. It is manifested in the Strategic Plan of the Department of Environment, in which Medan City is committed to adopting Indonesia’s NDC in reducing GHG emissions by 29% unconditionally. By becoming the GCoM signatory as well as the pilot city of the GCoM Asia Project, Medan City is advancing its steps toward a green and sustainable city.
In 2022, the GCoM Asia Programme’s technical partner, CCROM SEAP, will provide a series of capacity-building activities in climate adaptation and mitigation for the Climate Change Working Group. Medan City greatly expects that the programme’s scope will go beyond the development of Climate Action Plan (CAP) and capacity-building activities and touch the community at the grassroots level and facilitate the City to get funding for climate-related programmes.
23 December 2021 | Pontianak
Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono of Pontianak, along with the Heads of Departments and Offices of Medan City Government, welcomed the team in the Pontive Centre. The Mayor signed GCoM Commitment Letter to emphasise further the City’s pledge to climate actions.
The meeting proceeded with a technical discussion with the Climate Change Working Group moderated by the Head of Development Planning Agency, Mr. Trisna. Pontianak City is the only pilot city that has a working group established before the visit of the GCoM Asia Programme team. It comprises not only government institutions but also universities, private sectors, non-governmental organisations, and media, which is a Pentahelix in practice.
The series of capacity-building activities for Pontianak City is scheduled to be conducted in January 2022 for the first session, March 2022 for the second, and June 2022 for the third. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) is planned to be finished at the beginning of September 2022.
Before being selected as pilot cities, the four cities had to undertake a series of processes, from filling out a questionnaire until attending a validation meeting. The four cities were chosen based on five criteria: human resources, joint-financial capacity, geographical diversity, capability to engage multi-stakeholders, availability of existing climate initiatives, and strong commitment from the city leadership. In the selection process, UCLG ASPAC, as host of the GCoM SEA Secretariat, also engaged the Ministry of Environment (KLHK), the Association of Indonesian Municipalities (AIM), and the Centre for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management in Southeast Asia Pacific (CCROM SEAP) of IPB University.
