"Only by working together can we make significant progress, safeguard the world from climate change, and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement as a global effort to address the impact of climate change in the world," Risma noted in a speech at the One Planet Summit forum held in New York on Thursday.
The mayor of Surabaya was the only regional head to be invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to be a speaker at the One Planet Summit forum, with presidential- or prime ministerial-level attendees.
According to Risma, the forum offered space to collaborate, so she expressed hope to be able to work together to tackle the challenges of climate change.
She said the collaboration had been implemented in the city of Surabaya to ensure that climate change is tackled at the local level. As a result, the city of Surabaya has succeeded in reducing its temperature by two degrees Celsius.
This was achieved after the Surabaya city government created 45 hectares of urban forest, 35 hectares of green median, and 420 city parks, with a total of some 133 hectares of green space.
"As we are aware that our finances are limited, we are further exploiting the forces of nature and the people of Surabaya. This is our strength," she noted.
Risma also claimed to have applied a popular concept of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle or 3R in the city of Surabaya that has helped change the mindset of citizens and roused the interest of everyone to be involved in making Surabaya City greener, cleaner, and healthier.
As an example, several villagers in Surabaya have set up a trash bank in their respective neighborhoods.
To acknowledge this, the Surabaya city government held a garbage-free festival in which all participants wore clothing made from recycled materials.
The first woman mayor in the city of Surabaya also explained that the city continues to develop solar cell utilization, implement waste to energy projects at Final Disposal Sites, convert fossil fuels into gas, and implement a "green building" policy.
Reporting by Abdul Hakim
Editing by Otniel, Bustanuddin
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
