Jakarta's Air Pollution Is Getting Worse, The Government Is Trying These 5 Steps

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) has opened its voice regarding the condition of air pollution, especially in Greater Jakarta which is getting worse.

In fact, DKI Jakarta itself is included in the city with the worst pollution in the world based on IQAir data.

In his official Instagram social media account upload, Luhut said that last year the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that air pollution was one of the triggers for early death of up to 6.7 million people per year.

"The impact of air pollution is rarely felt directly, but the bad effects will long-term trigger a decline in the quality of society, quality of life, to increase the state's cash burden," Luhut said on his Instagram account @luhut.pandjaitan, quoted Monday, August 21.

He said PM 2.5 pollutants measuring 2.5 micrometers (mm) were the cause of one of the 10 major diseases financed by JKN and spent the state budget of up to Rp10 trillion.

That way, Luhut revealed that there are at least five solutions to overcome air pollution, especially in the Jabodetabek area.

"We need to work from upstream to downstream sectors to achieve a holistic solution. For a quick first step, we will make modifications to the weather to wet and reduce pollutants in the air," he said.

Second, Luhut said he would reduce the number of coal PLTUs for emission control. The government will require the industry to use a'scrubber'.

Scrubber itself is a tool that functions to control and clean up pollution produced by industrial activity using liquids or fluids.

"As an effort to control emissions, we will require the industry to use'scrubbers' and reduce the number of coal power plants. The expansion and tightening of vehicle emission tests to operate on roads will be implemented in the near future," he said.

The third is the division of working hours. The government is also reviewing the option of working as an effort to overcome air pollution. Luhut said that the division of working hours will reduce congestion which will have an impact on the level of pollutants.

"We will also convey the regulation on the distribution of working hours to all companies, in order to reduce the level of congestion which causes an increase in pollutants on the road," he explained.

The fourth effort that will be made is to encourage the use of public transportation. Luhut said that the use of public transportation continues to be encouraged and public transportation capacity during peak hours needs to be increased.

"We will also review the provision of more incentives for users, so that they are motivated to switch from private vehicles," said Luhut.

The last effort that will be made is to encourage the acceleration of vehicle electrification.

"I hope that the cooperation of all parties can create a real impact in handling air quality. Not only for today or tomorrow, but for our children and grandchildren in the future," he concluded.