Along with more than 190 countries, Indonesia signed the Paris Climate Agreement as the result of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015. Indonesia has committed to work on the Agreement which aims to keep the global average temperature to well below 2?C above preindustrial levels, or ideally limiting the increase to 1.5?C. The commitment of Indonesia has been shown with the enactment of Law Number 16 Year 2016 as the ratification of the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

Indonesia is one of the top green house gas emitters in the world with 760 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO²) production in 2012.  The figure was exacerbated with the effects of deforestation and other land-use change, which reached 1,981 million tons.  Massive land and forest fires as the cheap slash and burn technique for clearing the peat land for oil palm and pulp and paper business has caused haze crisis that released giant volumes of carbon into the atmosphere.

 

Signing the Paris climate agreement at the UN headquarters in New York, U.S., 22 April 2016, Indonesia Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has conveyed about the things that Indonesia will do to fulfill the target in decreasing carbon emission.  Indonesia has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 29 per cent by 2030, and up to 41 per cent with foreign support including technology and finance.  Through highlighting a program called Corporate Performance Evaluation (PROPER), Indonesia will encourage Corporations to work together to achieve the target. It is because the efficiency done by corporations could decrease emission equal to 39.8 million ton of CO². If it was compared to the position in 2011, that number reaches up to 65% in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Indonesia will also push Eco-Driving program with building a lot more public transportation in the hopes of people choosing public transportation more than personal transportation. The contribution in this program will help reduce the carbon emission up to 10%.  It is therefore in several big cities in Indonesia, the Central Government has supported the local governments in providing buses for encouraging people to left their private cars at home and takes public transport.  Many local governments also commit to provide a better public transportation service to its people.

 

As someone who lives in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, I could say that the Eco-Driving program is still being executed. Although there is already a lot of public transportation in Jakarta, the government still finds ways to improve it.  I found that some old buses have been renewed with new buses with environmental friendly vehicles by taking the European emission standards.  Speeding up the development of Jakarta Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) projects that connect the busiest streets in Jakarta could reduce CO² production significantly when many travellers utilize these transportation modes instead of using their own cars.  So, it is in line with the spirit of Paris Agreement on climate change.