The Global Covenant of Mayors Southeast Asia region (GCoM SEA) together with implementing partner Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and GCOM pilot city of Petaling Jaya held their Focus Group Discussion (FGD) for the preparation of the Petaling Jaya Climate Action Plan 2030 under the GCOM Common Reporting Framework on 31 May 2022.
The session kick-started with a welcome speech by YBhg. Tuan Mohamad Azhan bin Md Amir, Mayor of Petaling Jaya City. YBhg. Puan Sharipah Marhaini Syed Ali, Deputy Mayor of Petaling Jaya City accompanied the Mayor and they both attended the opening ceremony and met with the various national stakeholders. Mr. Pekka Penttilä, Trade, and Economic Attaché, Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia delivered the opening remarks and thanked everyone who dedicated their time and commitment to contributing inputs towards Petaling Jaya’s Climate Action Plan 2030.
The FGD session comprised of two FGD Working Groups. TPr. Lee Li Shyan, Director for Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing, Petaling Jaya City Council, and the staff from Petaling Jaya City Council were responsible for contacting and roping in key national stakeholders to ensure the FGD session would be inclusive and comprehensive. Prof. Ho Chin Siong, Director, UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Johor Bahru, and Mr. Chau Loon Wai, FABU, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Johor Bahru mobilised supporting experts to lead the FGDs and compilation of inputs and synthesis from the national stakeholders.
Aims and Objectives of the Focus Group Discussions:
The Petaling Jaya city was using the FGD session to introduce the GCoM and Common Reporting Framework (CRF) compliant Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the City of Petaling Jaya to all the invited national stakeholders. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) an implementing partner under the GCOM worked intensively on the first draft of the CAP for Petaling Jaya with the Petaling Jaya City Council. The preliminary results of Petaling Jaya’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) and Climate Risks Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) findings as well as data used for verification were presented to the national stakeholders and were updated after analysing and synthesising inputs from the various stakeholders during the feedback sessions. The FGD was also a great opportunity to present the draft planned climate actions for Petaling Jaya to key stakeholders of the city at the FGD to obtain feedback and comments from the stakeholders to encourage inclusivity of the quadruple helix: public and private sectors, academia, and civil society organisations which will also include NGOs and not for profit organisations as well.
What Petaling Jaya hopes to achieve collectively with assistance from the GCoM SEA project:
- to better understand the stakeholders’ views and aspirations for incorporation into the proposed Petaling Jaya Climate Action Plan 2030 (PJ CAP 2030) towards a more people-centric, sustainable, and climate-smart Petaling Jaya
- to gain better stakeholders’ support and buy-in for the proposed Petaling Jaya CAP 2030 towards more effective implementation of the CAP
- to develop a good MBPJ-stakeholder network for continuous long-term engagement in climate action planning for Petaling Jaya
What do we expect for the rest of 2022 to 2023?
- Completion of the Petaling Jaya CAP 2030 by October 2022 for eventual adoption and implementation by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
- Capacity building for MBPJ staff on Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI), Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA), GHG emissions mitigation target setting, and climate adaptation goals setting
- Knowledge sharing and potential city-to-city collaboration through participation in GCoM Regional Workshop in August 2022 (pending final confirmation)
- Voluntary monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions and adaptation planning for GCoM-compliant badges in mitigation and adaptation by 2023 and beyond
Special thanks and gratitude are extended to all national stakeholders of the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) from various key federal, state, and local agencies and the private sectors who contributed extensively during the FGD session.
Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Southeast Asia (GCoM SEA) funded by the European Union (EU) consists of four Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Thailand. The mitigation and adaptation of climate change will continue to be the most pressing issue for Malaysia. Thus, urgent actions are needed to limit the rate of current climate change. On top of that, cooperation amongst key actors remains key in combating this issue and GCOM will be key in facilitating this entire process.
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Written by: Jacqueline Chang
