Following a successful series of climate mitigation, adaptation and technical assistances in Mataram city, Climate Resilient and Inclusive Cities (CRIC) Project culminated its work with the Mataram Climate Working Group (Pokja) through a  final technical assistance in mitigation sector.

Held on 29-30 November 2023,this event marked a significant milestone in Mataram city’s journey towards developing a comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CAP).

The technical assistance was attended by a total of 31 participants (65% are female) from different local government agencies in Mataram City. Supported by experts from CCROM-SEAP IPB, the two-day technical assistance allowed Mataram city’s Pokja to discuss climate mitigation calculation results and setting strategic priority mitigation actions or programmes for Mataram city’s climate journey.

CCROM-SEAP IPB expert Dr. Muhammad Ardiansyah shed light on aspects of greenhouse inventory reporting and key category analysis (KCA). Further, he unveiled mentioned that how the KCA is used to identify emission sources responsible for at least 95% of the city’s total emissions. These emissions need greater attention during quality control as their accuracy significantly impacts the overall GHG inventory. 

Discussion on the KCA result of Mataram city apparently surprised participants as it identified biogas as one of the top mitigation actions. Green open spaces or RTH (Ruang Terbuka Hijau) emerged as a preferred option, prompting a deeper exploration of challenges and opportunities. Some added that biogas implementation in the city was never easy due to low community acceptance and land issues, thus highlighting the need for tailored local solutions. 

Beginning in 2021, trainings and technical assistances conveyed how commitment to a resilient future is evident in Mataram city’s climate action journey. They covered the greenhouse gas inventory, baseline development and exploring different mitigation scenarios. This final technical assistance successfully assisted the working group members in agreeing on key mitigation criteria and reviewed the informative Key Category Analysis (KCA) results.

Furthermore, Mataram city’s Pokja also received materials about Ternate and Gorontalo city’s best practices in climate action plan document development by Rizki Satria Field of Officer for Sulawesi Region, who was dispatched to Mataram City to support the technical assistance. This knowledge exchange strengthens the collective pursuit of climate resilience within all of CRIC Project’s 10 pilot cities, which are also UCLG ASPAC member cities. 

The training ended on positive note, with Mr Andi Kurniawan from BPBD who expressed his enthusiasm and hope, “I was not aware about climate change. It enlightened me that this city had been doing some activities that have high-impact emissions. I hope PLN can use more green sources to produce electricity. I also hope that there will be more regulations to support solar panels. We have budget restrictions on public mass transportation. The best we can do now is, maybe, to convert halogen lamps for public street lighting (PJU/Penerangan Jalan Umum) to LED lamps, although it is number 10 in our mitigation action priority”.

Moving forward with a shared vision for a sustainable future in Mataram, the city’s Pokja and CRIC field officer for Eastern Region Yusak Subnafeu will work together to calculate the city’s baseline GHG emissions, starting with the crucial energy sector. The result will enable them to supply all the mitigation data fordeveloping a Common Reporting Format (CRF). This comprehensive document will not only capture Mataram’s GHG emissions and removals, but also detail crucial data such as implied emission factors, and activity data, painting a clear picture of Mataram city’s carbon footprint.

The CRF analysis will serve as one of the results or key pillars of Mataram city’s Climate Action Plan document that is currently being developed by a dedicated team led by Mrs. Humairo Saidah, a University of Mataram lecturer on Hydraulics and Water Resource Engineering and an active member of Pokja Mataram.

Contributor: Dina Saputri – Project Coordinator of CRIC Project

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