Indonesian government climate talk success questioned

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post 26 Mar 10;

Activists have voiced doubts on government claims that Indonesia was one of the key players in international climate talks that managed to break deadlocks during many difficult negotiations.

They also questioned the role played by Indonesian negotiators in climate change talks, including at the Copenhagen climate conference last year.

“These are all unfounded claims that ignore the contribution of other countries. The Indonesian delegation has always seen itself as a major player in the talks with a strong role, but this is not backed up by documented records,” climate expert Daniel Murdyarso told the workshop on climate change organized by the WWF on Thursday.

“Indonesia is often not ready for the ‘war’. We bring ‘guns’, while other countries bring ‘bombs’ to the negotiations.”

He said that the billions pledged by developed nations in the Copenhagen Accord was only lip service.
“Indonesia should not be satisfied with a pledge,” he said.

Developed nations have pledged some US$30 billion from 2010 to 2012, with another $100 billion per year from 2020. The accord also stipulates the establishment of a Copenhagen Green climate fund.

“With no binding treaty issued, the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism [CDM] becomes unclear,” said Daniel, who is also researcher at the Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor).

He said that the government should allocate funds for adapting to climate change as Indonesia should not rely on external aid.

“There must be a budget for adaptation. It is not fair if the government focuses purely on funding mitigation programs,” he said.

The Copenhagen talks, which were attended by heads of state including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, resulted in only a political statement of the accord, with no binding deal for developed nations to cut emissions.

In recent climate change talks, delegates from Brazil, India, South Africa and China (referred to as the Basic Group) have been very prominent, with Indonesia eyeing a similar footing.

WWF Indonesia climate and energy director Fitrian Ardiansyah warned that Indonesia needed to focus on its own climate talk agenda rather than acting as a mediator.

“Indonesia still promotes itself as a mediator bridging divides at climate change talks, but it has yet to formulate a clear position,” he said.

He said the country’s agenda should be discussed with all stakeholders before talks even began.
The government has vowed to slash emissions by 26 percent by 2020 using its own budget. Fitrian said the government should translate the pledged 26 percent into a national and regional level development agenda.

“It is important, for example, to set integrated spatial planning for forestry, agriculture and mineral resources sectors to meet emission cut targets,” he said.