On the final day of the Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific congress, a High-Level Segment featured the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who praised Melaka for its efforts in hosting the congress. He also expressed his support for a number of Melaka’s pioneering initiatives, which include the publishing of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory (developed in conjunction with ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability) and the introduction of electric buses. The day ended with participants of the Congress agreeing to the Melaka Call for Action. The Call was later adopted as a Melaka Citizens’ Pledge for Resilience .
Before this, Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Ir. Hj. Idris bin Hj. Haron had asserted that urban resilience was a collective responsibility and youth had the most important role to play.
In the Call, the Congress committed to inclusive and transformative action on urban resilience. Through the Call, representatives of groups including local and subnational governments, academia, and the private sector acknowledged the opportunities offered by the international agreements signed in 2015 and committed to forging strong partnerships and creating enabling environments for solutions. They also appealed to national governments and the international community to provide technical and financial support to local governments for climate resilience projects.
The closing plenary allowed participants to reflect on key themes of the Congress: inclusive approaches to urban resilience, resilience financing, the implementation of global frameworks, partnerships, and governance and leadership. Emani Kumar (Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI) looked ahead to upcoming ICLEI events and events where ICLEI will bring the voice of local governments to the table.
These include:
• Resilient Cities 2016, Bonn, Germany
• COP22
Download: Congress summary presentation
