Indonesia criticized over climate change response

Headline News
June 05, 2007

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A World Bank-sponsored report launched Monday said Indonesia was lagging behind other countries and not making the most of the several options that would help the country deal with the impacts of climate change.

Developing renewable energy sources and reforestation will help ease the adverse impacts of climate change on Indonesia including prolonged droughts and an increase in climate-related diseases, said the report issued ahead of the June 5 World Environment Day.

Recommendations included the implementation of multiple projects contained in the Kyoto Protocol-sponsored Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and to focus on improving forest management and expanding the use of coal.

Green activist and report author Agus P. Sari said Indonesia was lagging behind other major greenhouse gas emitters in the development of alternative energy sources, despite the country's enormous potential.

"Indonesia has the potential for 27,000 megawatt geothermal-fired generators -- but so far the country has only 807 megawatts installed," Agus said.

"And Indonesia's micro hydro-fired capacity is 500,000 megawatts, yet here there is just 84 megawatts."

While energy policies may call for the development of renewable sources, supporting instruments including financial incentives have not been put in place.

Argus said the government had not been able to use CDM-listed opportunities for developing nations.

Indonesia should "sell" gas-reducing projects to developed nations to help them fulfill their Kyoto Protocol commitment (to cut an average 5.2 percent off their 1990 emission levels), he said.

Indonesia has so far registered eight projects with the UN, compared to India which has registered more than 200 and China which has more than 120.

The report also said Indonesia was not good at enforcing regulations on forest protection.

The country still suffers illegal logging and forest fires and was not yet adequately adapting to future climate events, Agus said.

"Take February's (massive) floods as example.

"The government should have mitigated the disaster -- but instead continued to see it as a regular occurrence and did not take precautions," he said.

All the options contained in the report would help Indonesia better deal with the impacts of climate change -- which would be significant for the sea-surrounded archipelago.

Research has found climate change would shorten the rainy season and intensify rainfall, which might lead to changes in water conditions and soil moisture.

This would effect agriculture and Indonesia's food security.

Almost half of Indonesians depend on the agricultural sector for their livelihood and rice is the country's staple food.

Impacts on human health, said the report, would be substantial.

Indonesia was already experiencing trends including the rise of dewing fever cases during the rainy seasons.

"Research has confirmed that warmer temperature leads to a mutation of the dewing virus," Agus said.

Indonesia will host in December the next meeting of Kyoto Protocol signatories. The meeting will address the future of the environment treaty.

Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, behind the United States and China. The country continues to suffer a very high rate of deforestation but registers low emission levels.