INDONESIA CAN LEAD CLIMATE CHANGE BATTLE
Editorial
As widely anticipated, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen did not see any legally binding commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But to brand the summit a failure would be wrong, as important progress was made.
World leaders closed the talks on Friday with the Copenhagen Accord, which recognizes the scientific case for restricting temperature rises to no more than 2 degrees Celsius. But the accord doesn’t contain commitments on emissions reductions to achieve this goal. We hope that such commitments will be made at a future summit, otherwise progress will inch forward given the complex nature of the issue.
“This is a well-meant pledge, but there is still a long way to go toward a legally-binding framework,” said Fitrian Ardiansyah , climate and energy program director at World Wildlife Fund Indonesia.
The Copenhagen Accord also aims to provide $30 billion a year for poor countries to adapt to climate change from next year to 2012, and $100 billion a year by 2020. But even these large sums fall short, according to Greenpeace, which slammed leaders of the most powerful countries for claiming the deal was done when all that was left in the wake of the talks was chaos and confusion.
That may be too harsh. Though there was no agreement to push for legally-binding commitments, Greenpeace acknowledged there were a few positives coming out of the summit, including the establishment of a new funding mechanism and agreement on the need for larger-scale financing.
While other nations dither on the issue, Indonesia has the opportunity to lead the transformation of the accord into a stronger agreement, as well as to prove that pledges made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono can be implemented domestically. Collaborating with other nations, Indonesia can ready itself for the UN-backed carbon trading mechanism, known as REDD.
“In the context of coping with the impact of climate change, Indonesia can start mainstreaming the adaptation policy within the economic development agenda to prepare us further for the impacts of climate change,” Fitrian said.
Private business also has a huge role to play. The recent decision by Unilever to stop buying palm oil from Sinar Mas because of the company’s poor environmental policies is a warning that should be heeded. The global trend toward better environmental protection is unstoppable, and Indonesian businesses must change their ways.
Having pledged to reduce Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2020, Yudhoyono needs to focus on his domestic agenda to ensure his government leads the way in cutting emissions. As one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases due to deforestation, Indonesia can show global leadership by pursuing sustainable growth policies.