Indonesia pledges to cut emissions from energy and forestry by 26 per cent by 2020

Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has pledged to cut emissions from energy and forestry by 26 per cent by 2020 from business as usual, becoming one of the first major emerging economies to announce an indicative target.

 

During a discussion on climate change at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, President Yudhoyono announced that Indonesia is 'devising an energy mix policy including land use, land use change and forestry that will reduce [its] emissions'. He also stated that a deviation of up to 41 percent would be possible with international support. He said the target was achievable because most of the country's emissions come from forest-related activity, such as forest fires and deforestation.

 

'We are also looking into the distinct possibility of committing a billion tons of CO2 reduction by 2050,' he said. 'We will change the status of our forests from that of a net emitter sector to a net [carbon] sink sector by 2030.'

 

'This is extremely positive, that developing countries can commit to the world that this is the ambition level we are at, we can do,' Kim Carstensen, head of conservation group WWF's global climate initiative, told Reuters in Bangkok.

 

'What's even more interesting and something that's been lacking in the negotiations is that they are willing to provide an additional 15 percent if they get financial support.' Greenpeace said Yudhoyono's comments would put pressure on rich nations to act faster on fighting climate change.

 

Indonesia is the world's third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, with emissions from forestry and peatland accounting for approximately 80 percent of its emissions. The UNFCCC summit in Bali in 2007 resulted in the Bali Action Plan, which is guiding much of the discussions in the run up to Copenhagen. President Yudhoyono, who was recently re-elected for a second five-year term, is personally committed to tackling climate change, and has been a driving force behind Indonesia's ambitions, including an aim to increase its share of renewable energy to 17% by 2025.

 

Related Links

Spell out Indonesia's Carbon-Cuttin Plan, SBY Told, Jakarta Globe 27 September 2009

Doubts linger in Bangkok climate talks, Jakarta Post 28 September 2009

Indonesia C02 pledge to help climate talks: greens, Reuters 29 September 2009