Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities Project hosted a virtual Climate Action Plan (CAP) Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, 30th June 2021, marking the beginning of climate change mitigation and adaptation training in ten Indonesian pilot cities. At least 100 people attended the event that brought together policymakers at the national and local levels and climate scientists.
The Secretary-General of UCLG ASPAC, Dr Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, opened the event by pointing out that the pandemic has exposed the threshold of our resilience to multi-hazard risks worsened by climate change. With this fact, she added, cities must no longer delay taking action and strategies to combat climate change. "Through CRIC, we aim to help ten pilot cities plan and implement scientifically-based climate actions," she said.
Joining the event was also Mr Hans Farnhammer, the Head of Cooperation for European Union Delegation to Indonesia & Brunei Darussalam. He underlined that addressing climate change is a top priority in Europe that seeks to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also extend to Indonesia as the European Union's strategic partner. He further encouraged cooperation among stakeholders as an instrumental factor in implementing the CRIC Project in ten cities.
CRIC Project will deliver Climate Action Plan training to ten Indonesian pilot cities from July 2021 to May 2022 by collaborating with the Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry and CCROM IPB. CRIC Project Coordinator Putra Dwitama explained that the entire training would align with the national level strategic climate framework. He added, "CAP is a response to climate emergencies and guidance for city-level climate action and strategies".
In the main event, Professor Rizaldi Boer, the Director of Center for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management Southeast Asia Pacific (CCROM SEAP) at Bogor Agricultural University/IPB, presented the city level Climate Action Plan framework. Another speaker, Dr Akhmad Faqih from the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology at the IPB, explained the scientific basis of climate change. The event also invited the Indonesia Ministry of Finance's Center for Climate Change Financing & Multilateral Policy Mr Irwan Dharmawan, who elaborated a wide range of climate financing schemes that cities can leverage.
The kick-off event gave a sense of urgency for cities to take climate action while providing cities support and assistance to do so through the CRIC Project. The CAP training will help local governments participate in national and global climate actions through scientifically robust and carefully planned local solutions.
Rewatch the event on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/n8eawoa2FMw
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Authors: Astry Nurul Meidina & Maria Serenade
