ROAD to COPENHAGEN, Fitrian Ardiansyah, Contributor, Copenhagen, Tue 12/08/2009, Environment

On this second day of two weeks of negotiations at the UN Climate Conference, it is crucial for an emerging economy like Indonesia to fully understand how it is planning to contribute to climate solutions.

With some 20,000 participants involved and the rest of the world observing closely, the 15th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-13) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hopefully result in a stronger global climate agreement.

Regardless of what happens in Copenhagen, Indonesia will need to come up with an action plan at the domestic level to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions for its own benefit and the survival of the nation and its people.

On Sept. 25, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated in a speech to G20 leaders that his government was devising a policy to cut GHG emissions by 26 percent by 2020 from “business as usual” (BAU) levels. He expressed confidence that, with international support, Indonesia could cut emissions by as much as 41 percent.

The policy would mix stepping up investment in the energy sector, especially to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as addressing emissions from deforestation and changes in land use, including from forest and land fires.

Since then, there have been attempts to assess the feasibility of this GHG emissions reduction target and provide important steps for Indonesia to reach this goal.

The launching of the Second National Communication (SNC) to the UNFCCC — a report presenting Indonesia’s progress in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation — together with detailed information on Indonesia’s GHG emissions was one of those attempts.

The SNC recorded Indonesia’s GHG emissions were around 594,738 gigagrams (Gg) CO2e in 2000 without land use, land use change, forestry and peat fires (LULUCF), and had significantly increased to about 1,415,988 Gg CO2e with the inclusion of LULUCF.

According to the Environment Ministry, SNC will be used as a reference and basis for the formulation of policies and programs to reach the GHG emissions reduction target declared by the President.

The SNC listed several possible ways Indonesia could reduce its emissions: developing more geothermal and waste energy sources, increasing the efficiency of power plants, reducing illegal logging and restoring production forests.

None of these strategies, however, seems to touch upon the most effective way to reduce GHG emissions in this country.

For instance, many studies have reported that deforestation, peat degradation and forest and land fires are currently the biggest source of GHG emissions in Indonesia. Addressing these is key to reducing the country’s GHG emissions.

GHG emissions in this sector usually come from forests being converted to grow crops, build infrastructure, settlements and set up mining operations; illegal and destructive logging outside and inside legal forest concessions; and forest and land fires to clear space for some agricultural lands.

The government should focus primarily on conserving and using the remaining primary and high conservation value forests and terrestrial ecosystems in a sustainable manner.

This option needs to be prioritized since the deforestation rate still outweighs that of reforestation — the annual rate of deforestation stands at 0.8 to 1.09 million hectares compared to 0.3 to 0.6 million hectares for reforestation.

The government should also prioritize sustainable and responsible land use development, which will take the pressure off forests and peatlands by increasing productivity of existing crop farms and optimizing the use of abandoned lands.

With regards to oil palm, there is no need to expand plantations at the expense of forests and peatlands, if their productivity can be improved. Growth in demand could be met by improving yield on existing plantations by 1.5 to 2.0 percent per year, according to a study conducted by Unilever.

Even if agricultural development requires new lands, various statistics have indicated that between 7 and 14 million hectares of degraded, abandoned and/or idle lands may be used.

Not all of these lands are likely to be available and feasible for development. Hence, comprehensive analysis will be needed to ensure these lands can be sustainably and responsibly developed.

Some governors will have to take strong positions to contribute to this effort.

Last year, the governors of Sumatra’s 10 provinces, along with the Indonesian ministry of forestry, the environment, interior and public works, reached an agreement to restore critical ecosystems in Sumatra and protect areas with high conservation values.

These governors will also work together to develop ecosystem-based spatial plans that will serve as the basis for future development on the island.

Hence, central and local governments need to work together closely to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

In addition, fossil fuel combustions must factor into any strategy to reduce GHG emissions by 26 percent. Although GHG emissions from this sector are currently lower than land use, land use change and forestry, Indonesia’s GHG emissions from the fossil fuel industry are increasing relatively fast.

This is the result of energy consumption growing almost as fast as the country’s GDP, while at the same time GHG emissions in Indonesia have grown faster than GDP. Coal is increasingly used as a source of energy.

Various policy options can be explored, including adjusting pricing policy and undertaking reforms on electricity generation.

The current energy pricing so far has led to irresponsible use of energy sources, and to some extent, rendered some energy sources scarce. It has become difficult to use renewable energy or promote energy efficiency because of the competition with some highly subsidized energy sources, noticeably fossil fuels.

The right pricing policies combined with reforms in electricity generation could provide incentives for actions and investments promoting the use of clean (gas) and renewable resources as well as improve efficiency in power generation, transmission, distribution and consumption.

Overall, the launch of SNC is a first step forward. However, there is a long way to go to ensure Indonesia contributes successfully to mitigating climate change.

A clearer road map and substantial action are required for this country to reach its own goals.   

The writer is program director of climate & energy at WWF-Indonesia, and adjunct lecturer at
Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy. He can be reached at fardiansyah@wwf.or.id

Original link:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/12/08/road-copenhagen-understanding-indonesia’s-emission-cuts-inside-out.html

ROAD to COPENHAGEN, The Jakarta Post, Fitrian Ardiansyah and Nazir Foead ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 10/20/2009 10:46 AM  |  Environment

Today Indonesia officially welcomes President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono to lead the country in overcoming its challenges during the next five years. One of the biggest challenges for the re-elected President is climate change.

According to the Indonesian National Coordinating Board for Disaster Management, in 2003 to 2005 alone, climate/hydrological-related disasters accounted for 1,429 cases or 53.3 percent of the total number of disasters that occurred in Indonesia.

Several different studies note that the costs of extreme climate events of the El Niño effect in 1982/1983 and 1997/1998 have reached US$500 million and $375 million, respectively; a shift in the beginning of the wet and dry seasons by one month has caused rice production to fall by 7–18 percent.

Sectors heavily affected by climate change include water, agriculture, forestry, marine/fisheries, health and infrastructure.

At the same time, the country’s contribution to the global level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is gradually increasing, especially if emissions from deforestation including peat land conversion and forest and land fires are taken into account.

In recent years, there has been a marked shift in Indonesia’s energy mix toward high-emissions sources. Most of the increased energy demand is met using coal, the most GHG-intensive fuel, and oil products for transport. This has contributed to approximately 20–30 percent of Indonesia’s GHG emissions.

Therefore, dealing with climate challenge is no regular challenge; rather, it is a daunting task requiring enormous amount of efforts from different sectors, layers of government and various actors in the country.

The President showed he is serious in facing this challenge in a speech to G20 leaders on Sept. 25, in which he stated that the government was devising a policy that would cut emissions by 26 percent by 2020 from “business as usual” (BAU) levels.

The policy would be a mix of stepping up investment in the energy sector, especially to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy, and addressing emissions from deforestation and changes in land use, including from forest and land fires. The President expressed confidence that, with international support, Indonesia could cut emissions by as much as 41 percent.

He added that his administration is committed to changing the status of Indonesia’s forests a net emitter sector to a net sink sector by 2030.

Although this is encouraging to hear from the leader of one of the largest developing nations, it also raises many questions.

Can Indonesia achieve its aspirations of reducing emissions while maintaining economic growth? Who in the government will be tasked with making sure the targets are clearly defined, action plans are competently designed and the implementations are kept on track?

Will the environment ministry — with the help of National Council on Climate Change — be able to do this, given that 26 percent of the carbon footprint reduction crosses several departments, including agriculture, energy, transportation, forestry, marine and fisheries and public works? Or perhaps we need a new Climate Change Ministry?

Now is a good opportunity for the President to form a Cabinet that can build a solid action plan for each relevant ministry to achieve emissions reduction.

Cabinet plans and programs could include a readiness and execution plan for reducing emissions from deforestation and land-use changes across sectors; a clear action plan for advancing renewable and clean energy; a clear strategy to remove specific regulatory barriers to energy efficiency; and, more importantly, a preparedness strategy to cope with the impacts of climate change and more.

Each minister must then cascade the plans and programs down to his or her directorates general. The next step will be implementation, requiring that someone in each ministry be appointed a “guardian angel” to execute the plan.

This person should be a high-level senior official, such as a director general or someone at the executive level.

In the ministries governing sectors that contribute substantially to Indonesia’s carbon emissions
and that have not already organized an environmental management system, there is a stronger need to form a new Level 1 official tasked with implementing emissions reduction plans.

This approach would ensure President’s plan is mainstreamed in all ministries and Indonesia starts on a low-carbon economy pathway, thus maintaining economic development while ensuring emissions reduction.

Furthermore, the new Environmental Management Act, passed by Parliament on Sept. 8, which will greatly increase the workload for the incoming environment minister, also provides a good starting point for achieving the President’s goals.

The new Act gives the environment minister a stronger mandate to oversee and coordinate sound environmental management with a sufficient budget, implement techniques to prepare for environment-related disasters and find innovative solutions.

The current budget allocated to environmental protection in Indonesia is a mere 0.11 percent of the national one. China, a country many believe does not make much effort for environmental protection, is making big changes. China’s environmental preservation budget allocation is close to 4 percent of its national budget; Sweden’s is 3 percent, Malaysia’s 2 percent and Australia’s 1 percent. In monetary units, Malaysia’s budget is 6.6 times bigger than ours; China’s is 173 times.

Appointing ministers and structuring the ministries of the incoming Cabinet, and later providing sufficient funds to support the reduction of GHG emissions, are early indicators of the Indonesian government’s seriousness in addressing climate change.

Taking the lead in confronting climate change at global level, as shown by the President, can only be “real” if he and his Cabinet demonstrate to the world that they practice at home what the President preaches abroad.

Fitrian is program director of climate & energy at WWF-Indonesia, and adjunct lecturer at Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy. He can be reached at fardiansyah@wwf.or.id. Nazir is director of governance, community and corporate engagement at WWF-Indonesia. He can be reached at nfoead@wwf.or.id.

Original Link:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/20/the-new-cabinet-and-its-new-climate-challenge.html