Governing climate mitigation in a megacity: Tapping opportunities in the multi-level governance system?

ABSTRACT

Given its sheer complexity and multi-level nature, climate change presents a new governance challenge for urban authorities and actors. By zooming in on the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia, this paper aims at providing a more nuanced understanding of the forming of urban climate governance in a particular geographical context outside the elite roster of climate frontrunners. Our paper shows that Jakarta’s participation in the transnational cities networks has provided a platform for the city to sustain its climate capacity and agenda. However, although the decentralized system of climate framework allows local cities to navigate their climate responses, limited authority over certain climate-related sectors may remain to confine the city government’s actions. Our case study of Jakarta reveals a fact that the path toward low carbon development is subject to the political dynamics at the provincial and national levels that often diverts its policy from achieving the climate goal.

KEYWORDS:

• Environment
• governance
• urban planning

Acknowledgments

We thank the Governor Team for Acceleration of Development (TGUPP) under Dr. Anies R. Baswedan for their support during our fieldwork in Jakarta.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council as part of The Global Challenges Research Fund (grant number ES/T008091/1).

Notes on contributors

Galuh Syahbana Indraprahasta

Galuh Syahbana Indraprahasta is a senior researcher (peneliti ahli utama) at the National Research and Innovation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BRIN) Jakarta. He currently holds the position of the Chair of Urban-Rural Dynamics Research Group, Research Center for Population BRIN. He also teaches and supervises master and doctoral students at IPB University Bogor. Galuh is an urban and economic geographer by training and his research area covers various topics, among others, global urbanization, urban governance, regional development, sustainability, and the relation between digital technology and spatial aspect. His works have been published in varying academic journals, including Habitat International, Growth and Change, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, and others.

Sulfikar Amir

Sulfikar Amir is an associate professor of science, technology, and society and a faculty member in Sociology Programme at the School of Social Sciences NTU. His research interests primarily focus on examining institutional, political, and epistemological dimensions of scientific knowledge and technological systems. He has conducted research on technological nationalism, development and globalization, nuclear politics, risk and disaster, design studies, city and infrastructure, and resilience. He is the author of The Technological State in Indonesia: The Co-constitution of High Technology and Authoritarian Politics and the editor of The Sociotechnical Constitution of Resilience: A New Perspective on Governing Risk and Disaster.

Anindrya Nastiti

Anindrya Nastiti is an associate professor in the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung. She has been involved in interdisciplinary research and is dedicated to unraveling the complexities of various environmental issues. Her primary expertise lies in the governance of water and WASH (water supply, sanitation, and hygiene). She also recently delved deep into urban heat, climate change, and emerging pollutants. Her work has been published in Habitat International, Scientific Reports, Water International, Environment & Urbanization, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and others.

Rifda Ufaira

Rifda Ufaira is a researcher with a strong architecture and urban planning background. She is passionate about exploring how the built environment can enhance and improve the quality of life for urban inhabitants. Her research interests lie in urban strategic planning and policies, focusing on smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. She is dedicated to finding innovative solutions that address the complex challenges faced by urban areas, such as climate change, urbanization, and social inequality.