Indonesian President Joko Widodo, at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), explained to the world that Indonesia's efforts in addressing climate change and extended a broad invitation for international cooperations. However, some experts believe that Indonesia's actions are still insufficient to solve this global problem.
During the opening ceremony, Jokowi stated that to achieve Indonesia's 2060 net-zero carbon emissions goal, an investment of over 1 trillion US dollars is needed. He called on countries to enhance cooperation, seeking financing with lower interest rates to assist developing nations, like Indonesia, in addressing climate change and accelerating energy transition. "Real achievements require collaboration and concrete actions. This is the goal we need to achieve at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference," he emphasized.
Joko Widodo urges nations at COP28 to assist in climate financing for developing countries. (Photo: Joko Widodo)
He mentioned Indonesia's efforts in reducing carbon emissions, hoping that these actions would bring sustainable development to the country’s economy. One of those are the carbon storage through forests and other land uses, known as the Forest and Other Land Use Net Sink 2030 (FOLU Net Sink 2030). "Through the FOLU, Indonesia continues to protect and expand mangroves, restore forests, and land. In the past 20 years, Indonesia has successfully reduced 75% of forest logging, restored 3 million hectares of degraded land, and another 3 million hectares of peatlands," he stated.
Forest and Plantation Campaign manager from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI), Uli Arta Siagian believes that Indonesia lacks sufficient determination to address the climate crisis. According to Uli, President Joko Widodo has not proposed concrete improvements in energy consumption and has omitted any mention of social participation in the context of energy transition.
Uli explained, "The so-called clean energy they claim is not addressing the climate problem at all." She also urged the government to involve the public in energy transition, stating, "The government should shift funding from high-carbon industries to environmental restoration and ensure that groups working on climate mitigation can effectively utilize these funds."
In addition, the head of Indonesian branch of the World Resources Institute (WRI), Arief Wijaya expressed his hope that Indonesia would take more measures to limit global warming. He stated, "We are on a positive trajectory, but it is still insufficient to achieve the 50% carbon reduction target recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) before 2030."
