Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Suahasil Nazara, has said that the green economy will be one of the focuses of government’s policy in the coming years.
"Awareness regarding sustainability will strengthen and become increasingly important in various areas of life," he noted while delivering a public lecture at Lambung Mangkurat University on September 29.
Nazara said that the government's future policy direction will be focused on creating an economic ecosystem that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. This has been included in one of the strategies for delivering the vision of 2045 Golden Indonesia.
He expressed appreciation for the actions taken by the principle of Lambung Mangkurat University, who has asked for 600 hectares of mangrove forests to be used as a research site as well as for environmental preservation measures.
"With the vision, Lambung Mangkurat University will take care of mangroves, make it a place for research, create new knowledge, and disseminate information about mangroves. Why mangroves? Because mangroves are part of a sustainable future economy," he said.
Furthermore, the government's commitment to a sustainable economy was realized with the establishment of the Indonesian Carbon Exchange (IDXCarbon) on September 26.
At the inauguration of the exchange, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said that it represents the country's real contribution to the global fight against the climate crisis. The proceeds from carbon trading will be reinvested in environmental protection efforts, especially reducing carbon emissions.
Indonesia is also the only country with around 60% potential for reducing carbon emissions in the natural sector. Joko Widodo said that there is approximately 1 gigaton of CO2 potential carbon credits that can be captured, along with Rp3 thousand trillion that can be gained through carbon trading.
Meanwhile, PT Bursa Efek Indonesia (IDX), the organizer of the carbon exchange, pegged the value of carbon unit trading transactions at Rp29.20 billion on the first day of trade.
IDX development director Jeffrey Hendrik also said that the total trading volume was recorded at 459,953 TCO2 with a total of 27 transactions.
The total number of buyers using the service was 15 and there was one seller, namely Pertamina New and Renewable Energy, which traded carbon credits from the Lahendong projects of PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy Tbk.
