(in photo above, from left) Some of the Southeast Asian representatives present for the 2021-2022 ICLEI World Congress: The Malmö Summit. Rozaidi Mahat, Head of Sustainability of Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council, Malaysia; Leticia Clemente, Budget Officer of Baguio City, Philippines; Trinnawat Suwanprik, Low Carbon Growth Local Coordinator for Chiang Mai, Thailand; Donna Tabangin, Planning and Development Coordinator of Baguio City, Philippines; Ari Mochamad, Country Manager of ICLEI Indonesia; Mayor Dato Azhar Haji Arshad of Seberang Perai, Malaysia; Ahmad Zabri Bin Mohamed Sarajudin, Acting Director of the Municipal Services Department of Seberang Perai, Malaysia; Victorino Aquitania, Regional Director of ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat; Richard Butch Cabilan, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer of the Municipality of Dumingag, Philippines; and Mary Jane Alvarez, Regional Program Manager of ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat.

Various Southeast Asian cities witnessed the culmination of the year-long 2021-2022 ICLEI World Congress at The Malmö Summit in Sweden last 11-13 May 2022. A number of mayors and other local government representatives from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand joined the World Congress physically and virtually, learning from and inspiring one another on the best practices in local sustainable development.

Mayor Assannee Buranupakorn of Chiang Mai, Thailand (left) meets Mayor Syarif Fasha of Jambi City, Indonesia (right) during the Malmö Summit.

Leading the delegation in Sweden were Victorino Aquitania, ICLEI SEAS Regional Director; Dr. H. Syarif Fasha, ME, Mayor of Jambi City, Indonesia and SEA Regional Executive Committee Member; and Dato’ Azhar Bin Haji Arshad, Mayor of Seberang Perai Municipal Council, Malaysia and Advisor to the ICLEI Climate Action and Low Emission Development portfolio.

Mar-Len Abigail “Abby” Binay, Mayor of Makati City, Philippines, Southeast Asia Representative to the ICLEI Global Executive Committee, and Chair to the ICLEI Innovative Financing portfolio; and Alfredo Coro II, Mayor of the Municipality of Del Carmen, Philippines and Advisor to the ICLEI Climate Action and Low Emission Development portfolio, led the roster of virtual attendees.

Carrying the motto “Sustainability. Together.” the Malmö Summit featured three days of core programming composed of strategic high-level dialogues and breakout workshops on (1) strategies towards a climate neutral future; (2) strategies towards resilient and healthy communities in harmony with nature; and (3) strategies towards equitable and inclusive communities.

Local government representatives from Southeast Asia were tapped as speakers for some of the program’s workshop sessions.

Accelerating ambitious climate action: Bridging climate emergency and climate neutrality

Mayor Dato Azhar Haji Arshad of Seberang Perai, Malaysia (second from right) during the panel discussion on “Accelerating ambitious climate action: Bridging climate emergency and climate neutrality”

Declaring a climate emergency and setting climate neutrality targets are key steps towards achieving net-zero emissions. Speaking on the panel, Mayor Azhar Arshad of Seberang Perai, Malaysia shared that his city has already declared a climate emergency in 2016. Moreover, they already have a climate neutrality target, with goals to be a low carbon city this 2022, a carbon-neutral city by 2030, and a zero-carbon city by 2050.

“We have declared a climate emergency in 2016. Since then, Seberang Perai has achieved a per person reduction of carbon emissions from 8.37 tCO2e in 2016 to 5.39 tCO2e in 2021, about a 33% reduction in five years. Our carbon emission in 2021 is lower than global per capita emissions,” said Mayor Arshad.

Asked on what his city is doing to meet these goals, Mayor Arshad said “Actions are needed as soon as possible from everyone in the city to fight global warming. Integration of technologies, people, and governance has made the fight possible for Seberang Perai. For example, we encourage people to be involved in solid waste management, especially in recycling and composting. We must plan for the future of our city to face the climate emergency.”

Digital tools to get started with circularity

Ms. Donna Tabangin, Planning and Development Coordinator of Baguio City, Philippines, shares the city’s journey with the Circle Lab for Cities Program.

A circular economy can help cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimize waste management, and open new livelihood opportunities and value chains for their citizens, among other benefits. However, transitioning from a linear to a circular economy is a complex, multi-layered process. Additionally, conceptualizing how circularity can apply to different sectors beyond waste management may prove difficult for local governments.

To help facilitate its transition to a circular economy, Baguio City in the Philippines has been utilizing the different online tools of the Circle Lab for Cities Program and the ICLEI Circulars Platform. Ms. Donna Tabangin, the city’s Planning and Development Coordinator, shared that Baguio is looking to integrate circularity in its mobility sector. Currently, Baguio’s streets carry three times as much vehicles as their actual capacity.

“We discovered that when we talk about mobility, there are still some portions that we need to improve on. We plan to modernize public transport by shifting to newer, more eco-friendly vehicles. But the old vehicles just end up being resold and plying the streets again. There needs to be more creativity and collaboration to make this sector circular,” Ms. Tabangin explained.

Vouching for the benefits of the Circle Lab for Cities program, she added “These circular development tools can help us act urgently and help us better realize where we are so we can move to where we want to be.”

Coastal cities: Ground zero for resilience and health

Mayor Alfredo Coro II of Del Carmen, Philippines (via Zoom, bottom) talks about how his municipality uses nature-based solutions to bolster resilience.

Straddling the land and the sea, coastal cities are some of the most vulnerable areas to climate change. Rising seas, stronger typhoons, and warmer temperatures are just some of the factors negatively impacting their ecosystems and the lives of their citizens. The Municipality of Del Carmen in the Philippines is one such coastal area whose resilience is constantly challenged by the effects of climate change.

Speaking virtually from Del Carmen, Mayor Alfredo Coro II shared their experience with nature-based adaptation efforts to bolster the town’s resilience. “In 2010, the Del Carmen Mangrove Forest was almost considered as the illegal mangrove cutting capital of the Philippines. Now, by working with our citizens, we have one of the largest contiguous blocks of mangrove forests in the country.”

“We have over 4,800 hectares of mangrove forests that we are protecting, allowing us to mitigate storm surges,” Mayor Coro added.

However, their recent experience as ground zero of Typhoon Rai last December 2021 is testament to the urgency of worldwide climate action. While the mangroves were able to dampen the sea waves, the town was still left in ruins.

Talking about the importance of concerted effort from everyone, Mayor Coro said “We only expect the typhoons to get stronger each year. Such is the effect of the world’s climate crisis. Only by taking this sustainability journey together can we ensure that urban development is fair and equal for all the cities and citizens of the world.”

Circularity to overcome plastic waste management challenges

Engr. Neil Ravena, Acting City Environment and Natural Resources Officer of Iloilo City, Philippines, discusses over Zoom the city’s plastic waste management efforts conducted under the Alliance to End Plastic Waste + ICLEI Developing Plastic Waste-free Cities program.

It is estimated that around 11-million tons of plastic waste currently leak into the world’s oceans each year, with the figure expected to reach 29-million tons by 2040 if the status quo continues. Of this amount, only about 9% is recycled. This linear production-consumption cycle can be attributed to poor segregation and mixed waste collection.

For Iloilo City, Philippines, the plastic waste challenges also include the increase of waste volume due to the pandemic, low waste segregation at source, and the general mindset of citizens when it comes to waste.

Discussing how they are fighting the plastic waste problem, Engr. Neil Ravena, Acting City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, said that they built a dedicated 23-hectare materials recovery facility that could sort 10-15 tons of waste a day, 30% of which is plastic. These are then repurposed and sold as cement alternatives. The city also regularly conducts information, education, and communication campaigns in villages, created anti-littering task forces, and installed waste interceptors in drainage systems to better manage trash.

To sustain this circular effort, Iloilo also works with over 200 waste pickers in their sanitary landfill. “We organized the community waste pickers into a city-recognized non-government organization. They receive the sales coming from the recyclable materials and low-density plastics from the facility,” said Engr. Ravena.

Driving global transformation and achieving sustainable development for all

Mayor Abigail Binay of Makati City, Philippines, officially launches the 2022 Call for Applications of the Transformative Action Program.

The final plenary of the three-day Malmö Summit saw how local and regional governments around the world will continue to pursue sustainable development, as well as the launch of various global initiatives supporting this thrust.

In a video message, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay officially launched the Transformative Actions Program’s (TAP) 2022 Call for Applications. “There is a gap between the need and the availability of funds at the local level. Even if funds are available, local governments often lack the technical expertise to design funding-ready proposals. The TAP, managed by ICLEI and partners, has a prominent role in this context by supporting cities to develop their net-zero emissions and resilience project concepts,” said Mayor Binay.

Created in 2015, the TAP supports local and regional governments in developing concepts into high impact sustainable infrastructure projects. Specifically, the TAP aims to improve project bankability by supporting local and regional governments with specific tools and services designed to increase the maturity of their proposed concepts, as well as increasing their visibility to potential investors and connecting them to project preparation facilities and financial institutions. Since its inception, the TAP has received over 330 local climate project proposals for guidance and funding.

“Local governments have the highest potential to address climate issues due to their most dominant role in policy formation, proximity to most affected groups, and understanding of communities on the ground. Our action today will be determinant for future generations across all parts of the world. Building a solid future must start with sustainable measures in the present,” Mayor Binay concluded.

Some of the ICLEI staff and Members during the 2021-2022 ICLEI World Congress: The Malmö Summit held in Malmö, Sweden on 11-13 May 2022. Photo from the ICLEI World Secretariat.

Taking place every three years, the ICLEI World Congress serves as a platform for local and regional governments across the ICLEI network to showcase their sustainable development thrusts. The World Congress connects cities, towns, and regions with their peers and strategic partners, helping facilitate discussions that inform and enhance local sustainability.