Jakarta - The city of Balikpapan ranks first in the We Love Cities campaign, which is part of the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) initiative, and has earned the title of 'The Most Loveable City 2015'. Balikpapan was chosen after competing with 47 EHCC finalist cities in 17 countries. This result is obtained from public voting through website and social media. People from all over the world can vote for their favorite city through various ways such as clicking the vote button on the website www.welovecities.org, sending tweets, uploading photos and videos via Instagram, or giving suggestions for the improvement of their chosen city. The interactive campaign runs from January 26, 2015 until the Earth Hour celebration on March 28, 2015.

Balikpapan Mayor Rizal Effendi received the award from the CEO of WWF Korea in Seoul, South Korea, today (9/4). "On behalf of the citizens of Balikpapan City, I would like to thank you for your support in the We Love Cities campaign so that Balikpapan City has won the title of 'The Most Loveable City'. This achievement is a special encouragement for the City Government's commitment to work together with all citizens to make Balikpapan a sustainable city that is environmentally friendly, comfortable to live in and can be an example for other cities in Indonesia. Programs for waste management, the use of energy saving lamps for public street lighting and also environmental education for students in Balikpapan City will continue to be part of our real action to maintain Balikpapan as a city of clean land, clean water and clean water," said Rizal Effendi.

Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) is WWF's initiative to appreciate inspiring cities in order to realize sustainable cities that are environmentally friendly and comfortable for their citizens. In its 4th year, EHCC was participated by 163 cities from 17 countries. The participating cities from Indonesia are Balikpapan, Bandung, Bogor, Cimahi, Jakarta and Semarang. From each participating country, 3 finalists were determined, of which the finalists from Indonesia were Balikpapan, Jakarta and Semarang.

The national and global EHCC winners are determined through a judging process on information, data, action plans and work programs of each city reported through the Carbon Climate Registry (cCr) platform - managed by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, as WWF's partner in EHCC.

Of the 3 finalist cities representing Indonesia, Jakarta was designated by the jury as Indonesia National Earth Hour Capital 2015 due to its consistency in running BRT/busway as an alternative public transportation, having a fairly comprehensive action plan for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the commitment of funding for these programs.

The EHCC international jury of urban development and climate change experts also designated Seoul as the 2015 Global Earth Hour Capital. "Through participation in the Earth Hour City Challenge, WWF hopes that cities in Indonesia will not only be inspired but also inspire other cities in the world in their efforts to develop sustainable cities. Congratulations to Jakarta and Balikpapan for their achievements this year, WWF invites other cities in Indonesia to demonstrate Indonesia's commitment in facing the challenges of climate change and preserving natural resources through participation in the next Earth Hour City Challenge," said WWF-Indonesia CEO, Dr. Efransjah.

For more information, please contact:
Nenden N. Fathiastuti, Public Relations Manager, WWF-Indonesia
Email: nfathiastuti@wwf.or.id, Phone: +62 811 1909 148

Noverica Widjojo, Media Relations Officer, WWF-Indonesia
Email: nwidjojo@wwf.or.id, Phone: +62 812 1958 1985