The Government of Indonesia launched the Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI) during the 2018 International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia. LCDI is a process for identifying development policies that maintain economic growth, alleviate poverty, and help meet sector-level development targets, while simultaneously helping Indonesia achieve its climate objectives, and preserve and improve the country’s natural resources. These low carbon development policies have been internalized into the National Medium-term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020–2024.

In the light of this, the Government of Palembang has initiated the integrating climate change mitigation into the Regional Medium-term Development (RPJMD) 2018 – 2023. On 19 May 2020, Planning Agency of Palembang hosted the discussion through the virtual meeting which brought together various official agencies from the Government of Palembang, local and international partners as well as distinguished experts. Having served as partner in developing Climate Action Plan, IUC Asia took a part on the discussion to provide valuable input.

As discussed in the meeting, the integration process would include the revision of the existing RPJMD 2018-2023 to explicitly incorporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, along with interventions towards achieving the targets set. The participants expressed the same conclusion that low carbon development have been a natural win-win solution for Palembang’s economy, its people and environment. Specifically, it would lead to robust economic growth; higher availability and better quality of environmental goods and services; more inclusive development; and improved living conditions.

The meeting resulted in agreement between the parties on the next steps of the integration process, including the submission time for the draft of the Climate Action Plan.