The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP-26) will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November 2021. Indonesia has an important role in the climate change summit. Indonesia has pledged to reduce its emissions by 29% with its own efforts and by 41% with international support by 2030. Indonesia has also expressed a commitment to play an active role in tackling climate change and preventing the increase in the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5 degrees. Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
At the COP-26 event on November 1, 2021, the President of Indonesia, Jokowi, made a four-minute speech. In his speech, he conveyed a number of claims about Indonesia’s commitment to climate change in the world, among others, reducing the rate of deforestation significantly, with the lowest rate in the last 20 years; forest fires down 82 percent in 2020; has started the rehabilitation of 600 thousand ha of mangrove forest in 2024, which is the largest in the world; has rehabilitated 3 million critical lands between 2010 and 2019. He also said that the sector which originally contributed 60 percent of Indonesia’s emissions would reach a carbon net sink by 2030 at the latest.
President Jokowi also stated that the main target for carbon sequestration is forests. Indonesia is one of the countries that has the largest tropical forest in the world. Indonesia has 7.5 ha of peatlands, 3.1 million ha of mangroves and 180 million ha of forests which contribute to the absorption of world carbon gas. This forest wealth can be an opportunity to earn income.
Indonesia has been selling carbon emissions since 2005, one of which is through the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) project. And the result of this collaboration has resulted in an investment of US $ 150 million or Rp. 2.1 trillion. The Indonesian government wants to continue to develop this carbon trade. And this development must be accompanied by a strong commitment, especially in establishing regulations related to carbon trade and benefit sharing for the community.
The seriousness of the potential value of carbon trading to be a solution to the problem of deforestation and community welfare, has prompted the Government of Indonesia to immediately renew policies related to carbon with the issuance of PERPRES 98 of 2021 on October 29, 2021 concerning IMPLEMENTATION OF CARBON ECONOMIC VALUE.
Presidential Regulation 98 of 2021 clearly states that carbon as a universal indicator in measuring the performance of climate change control efforts is reflected in the contribution determined nationally, in addition to having important economic value and having international dimensions, mainly in the form of economic benefits for the community as well as a reflection the principle of sustainable resource management in accordance with the mandate of Article 33 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
This shows that the government hopes that economic benefits for the community and the environment can be achieved simultaneously by building a commitment to protect forests. However, at the community level, there are still many unanswered questions. As a connected society and have the gift of forests, can we take advantage of the opportunities of carbon economy schemes? Is it possible that we can continue to preserve forests while building community welfare?
