"With such great natural potential, Indonesia continues to contribute in tackling climate change. The rate of deforestation has fallen significantly, the lowest in the last 20 years. Forest fires have fallen by 82 percent in 2020," President Jokowi noted in his remarks at the COP26 World Leaders Summit on Climate Change.
President Jokowi emphasized that climate change was a major threat to global prosperity and development, for which global solidarity, partnership, cooperation and collaboration were the keys to overcoming the problem.
The head of state also spoke about Indonesia having started the rehabilitation of mangrove forests, spanning an area of 600 thousand hectares, until 2024. Moreover, Indonesia had rehabilitated three million hectares of critical land during the 2010-2019 period.
"The sector, which originally contributed 60 percent of Indonesia's emissions, will achieve a carbon net sink by 2030," the president stated.
Meanwhile, in the energy sector, Indonesia is also moving forward with the development of an electric car ecosystem and the construction of the largest solar power plant in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has made the most of new and renewable energy sources, such as biofuels, and developed clean energy-based industries that include the construction of the world's largest green industrial area in North Kalimantan.
"However, it is still not sufficient. Indonesia, as a country with large areas of green land and large seas that have the potential to contribute to carbon emission reduction, needs support and assistance from developed countries," Jokowi affirmed.
According to President Jokowi, climate finance provision -- with support from developed countries as partners -- will be a "game changer" in climate change mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries.
"Indonesia will be able to contribute faster to the world's net-zero emission. The question is, how much is the contribution from developed countries to us? What technology transfers can be provided? What programs are supported to achieve the SDGs targets that have been hampered by the pandemic?" Jokowi affirmed.
Moreover, the president noted that the carbon market and carbon price must be part of the efforts to address the issue of climate change. Thus, a carbon economic ecosystem -- that is transparent and with integrity, inclusiveness, and fairness -- must be created.
At the end of his speech at the COP26 summit, President Jokowi, on behalf of the Archipelago and Small Island State (AIS) Forum, said that Indonesia was honored to be able to circulate a joint statement with leaders of the AIS Forum.
"It is the AIS Forum's commitment to continue to advance maritime cooperation and climate action at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," Jokowi stated.
President Jokowi attended the event in the company of Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar. (*)
