Indonesia committed to green development

Antara 19 May 18;

Minister of National Development Planning / Head of Bappenas Bambang Brodjonegoro (center) spoke with Singapore Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli (right) after speaking at 5th Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources in Singapore on Friday (18/5/2018). (ANTARA News/Virna P Setyorini)

Singapore (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and other ASEAN member-states are ready to strengthen their commitment to green development based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.

Under the Paris Agreement within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Indonesia has committed unconditionally to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29 per cent in 2030.

The target could be increased to 41 per cent if the country receives international support.

During the 5th Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources on Friday, the National Development Planning Minister, Bambang Brodjonegoro, said that Indonesia continued to set some aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

After establishing a framework for managing forests and peat lands, Indonesia was currently turning its attention to other large carbon producers, such as the transportation and energy sectors.

"Forests and peat have been (managed) pretty good, but energy, especially renewable energy, is still left behind. This is what we want to be accelerated, for example, by bringing in investors and setting a more appropriate pricing scheme," said Brodjonegoro.

The Singapore Minister of Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli, said that as the Chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) for 2018, Singapore had set a theme of endurance and innovation, which included tackling climate change as one of its priorities.

Singapore was also aware of its role to establish partnerships within Asean by conducting the Special Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change Control Action in July 2018 and the establishment of the Asean Smart City Network, which would build the capacity of Asean cities to achieve sustainable urban development.

Meanwhile, the Filipino Senator, Loren Legarda, explained that her role as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Climate Change had helped in her country harmonising a larger policy to align energy, climate, agriculture and food issues with public and private financing.

"The private sector is ready to support by incorporating public-private partnerships to grow the green sector, such as renewable energy," the environmentalist said.

At the same time, she said, large corporations had begun integrating climate change control targets into their business models.

The SIIA`s 5th annual dialogue was attended by 350 industry experts, corporate leaders, and regional decision makers.

Reported by Virna P. Setyorini
Y013/INE
(T.Y013/A/KR-BSR/A/H-YH)
Editor: Heru Purwanto