The deal to provide climate mitigation funding should come along with strong commitments to reduce emissions. Indonesia’s role as G20 president will contribute to a change in global climate policies.
By
A. Tomy Trinugroho from Glasgow, Scotland
·6 minutes read
AP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2021, file photo firefighter Austin Cia sprays water as the Windy Fire burns in the Trail of 100 Giants grove in Sequoia National Forest, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, approved nearly $1 billion in new spending to prevent wildfires, signaling a policy shift in a state that historically focused more on putting out fires than stopping them before they start.
GLASGOW, KOMPAS—The heads of state attending the 26th Climate Change Summit (COP 26) in Scotland pledged on Tuesday (2/11/2021) to earmark US$20 billion (Rp 285 trillion) to fund measures to mitigate climate change. Environmental observers responded to the commitment listlessly.
“The funds are intended to end deforestation by 2030. Forests are the lungs of our planet and the source of all our lives,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, the host of this year’s climate conference.
The agreement on the climate mitigation fund were signed by 100 heads of state, including the leaders of those countries that have 85 percent of the planet’s forests: Indonesia, the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the UK. Ending deforestation is one measure to increase carbon absorption.
In his COP 26 speech, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo affirmed Indonesia’s commitment to handling climate change. However, the President also urged advanced countries to contribute.
“Indonesia can contribute to the world’s zero emissions. The question remains, how large will be the contribution from developed countries for us? What technology can be transferred? What programs are supported to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals that have been hindered by the pandemic?” he said.
The President pointed to the achievements Indonesia had made in handling climate change, including a significant decrease in deforestation that had reached its lowest rate in the last 20 years, an 82 percent reduction to forest fires in 2020 and commencing the rehabilitation of mangrove forests.
“The sectors originally contributing 60 percent of Indonesia’s emissions will reach their net carbon sink (carbon absorption) by 2030 at the latest,” he said.
BPMI SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo emphasized Indonesia's commitment to addressing climate change during a speech at the World Leaders Summit on Climate Change or COP26, Monday (1/11/2021) Scottish Event Campus, Glasgow, Scotland.
No expectations
In view of the disappointing results of last week’s summit of the countries with the largest economies in the world (G20) and their climate mitigation commitments, environmental observers said they did not expect much from the COP 26 pledge.
“In the Paris Agreement of 2015, rich countries promised to grant $100 billion by 2020 to developing and poor countries for mitigating the climate crisis. But they later announced that they could not afford to meet their commitments until 2023. It is natural that the public is skeptical about the pledge this time,” said Saleemul Haq, the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh.
Mitigation funds are important because industries in developing countries were established on investments from advanced countries’ investors. Manufacturing plants in developing countries generally produce the goods of copyrighted brands of advanced countries. Rapid economic growth in developing countries depends on low-cost electricity generated by coal.
If developing countries are to reduce emissions, the investment of funds and technologies is needed to increase the number of environmentally friendly power plants. This also needs the support of domestic political will and international pressure. Therefore, decarbonization cannot be seen as a separate goal, but rather a globally interrelated one.
Indonesia’s role
With these challenges, Indonesia’s position as G20 president is strategic in calling for political leaders to commit to overcoming climate change.
“From the scientific aspect, the impacts of climate change as reported by the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] are very clear. At the present rate of warming, the temperature could reach 4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and in 2030-2042 we will have arrived at the critical point of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to preindustrial levels. It’s simply up to the leaders‘ political commitments,” said Edvin Aldrian, a climate research professor from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and deputy chairman of IPPC Working Group I.
According to Edvin, the COP 26 climate negotiations will succeed only if world leaders, especially those of G20 countries as major greenhouse gas emitters, make strong commitments. “As G20 president, Indonesia’s role in the coming year will be very decisive in affecting change in climate policies,” he said.
Apart from its G20 position, in Edvin’s view, Indonesia also has a strategic role because of its large population and tropical rain forests that have the potential to absorb carbon or conversely, generate greater emissions. “Indonesia is a superpower in terms of climate change because our population ranks fourth in the world. What we do will be a determining factor,” he added.
AP PHOTO/SCOTT HEPPELL
Oxfam 'Big Head' caricatures of world leaders protest on the fringes of the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow gathers leaders from around the world, in Scotland's biggest city, to lay out their vision for addressing the common challenge of global warming.
Regarding forestry and other land use (FOLU) in his national statement at the COP 26 World Leaders Summit, President Jokowi expressed his determination to turn Indonesian forests and land into carbon absorbers no later than 2030. This is in line with the global forest pledge announced in Glasgow.
Besides FOLU, Edvin said the energy sector was also key to reducing emissions. “We have to set a target [on] when we will do away with coal-fired power plants. The target should be clear and once again, this depends on government intentions,” he said.
On the other hand, with reference to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in September in Marseille, France, involving traditional communities in making policies related to forest product use was very important. The move was intended to ascertain that no actions that were damaging to nature would be taken.
Executive Director Nadia Hadad of the Madani Berkelanjutan (sustainable civilization) Foundation expressed appreciation for the FOLU target, but stressed that realizing it would require firm measures. “President Jokowi should adopt a firm development policy that covers national economic recovery that is consistent with the FOLU net sink agenda and the aim to end deforestation by 2030,” said Nadia.
Reducing deforestation gives capital for Indonesia to be proud when speaking on the world stage.
According to Nadia, protecting the its vast natural forests and the remaining peatland ecosystem will help Indonesia fulfill these aspirations. Today, 9.6 million hectares of natural forest are still unprotected by the licensing moratorium and were thus endangered.
At the Indonesian Pavilion in Glasgow on Monday afternoon, a discussion was held about the efforts of big Indonesian corporations to reduce carbon emissions. “Reducing deforestation gives capital for Indonesia to be proud when speaking on the world stage, let alone Indonesia’s G20 leadership this year,” said Anderson Tanoto, managing director of RGE (Royal Golden Eagle).
State electricity company PT PLN was also committed to reducing the carbon emitted by its coal-fired power plants to support the government’s Carbon Neutral 2060 target.
