(21 September, 2012) “Yogyakarta is committed to sustainable growth,” said the city’s Mayor, Mr Haryadi Suyuti, during a two-day workshop in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Held by the City of Yogyakarta, the workshop was conducted in collaboration with the International Local Government Association, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability to present the Yogyakarta City Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emission Inventory Report and to demonstrate the use of ICLEI’s internationally recognized monitoring software system, Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool (HEAT+). “We are pleased to be able to be among the first cities in ASEAN to be able to formally report our emissions data,” the Mayor added.

Earlier this year, Yogyakarta was nominated as an ASEAN pilot city to demonstrate a systematic and standardised methodology to measure and monitor citywide carbon emissions. The pilot will serve as a model for other cities in ASEAN and is expected to encourage them to adopt a systematic approach for GHG emissions inventory and use tools such as the HEAT+ software, to better equip ASEAN cities in measuring and monitoring carbon emissions and developing effective strategies for low carbon economic growth and climate resiliency.

Data from the Yogyakarta report will be submitted for inclusion in the carbon Cities Climate Registry, a global mechanism that encourages local governments to report on their GHG emissions inventories and reduction commitments regularly and publicly.

“Achieving a harmonised approach to emission-monitoring is an important step for building environmentally sustainable cities, and is in line with actions and priority areas identified under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint to address climate change impacts,” said Mr. R Sudirman, representative of the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities Chairperson.

Several cities in ASEAN are topping the global list of cities vulnerable to climate change. While these cities are key drivers of economic growth they also contribute to global energy use and GHG emissions. The ICLEI HEAT+ software is a web-based system designed to help local government’s benchmark emissions levels against local, state, national, provincial, and international standards.

Organized by the City of Yogyakarta, ICLEI, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the U.S. Government supported ASEAN-US Technical Assistance and Training Facility, the Yogyakarta City Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emissions and HEAT+ Launch and Training Workshop featured a presentation from the Green Building Council of Indonesia on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction in the environment. It was followed by sharing sessions about the experience with greenhouse emission inventory and action plans from the representatives of Semarang and Malang. Supporting and participating in the workshop were officials from the city of Yogyakarta, the World Bank, and GIZ.