Anies Affirms Public Transportation Is Key To Fighting Climate Change

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor, Anies Baswedan, emphasized that the sustainable development of public transportation is the key to fighting climate change.

"Sustainable public transportation is a key factor in fighting climate disasters", Anies said via the TEDx Talks YouTube channel, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, December 15.

Anies said that according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, global warming will reach 1.5 celsius in two decades.

This is a signal that the development of environmentally friendly public transportation as a substitute for private vehicles to reduce carbon emissions is an urgent matter.

"The latest IPCC report is a strong warning for us. We will achieve global warming of 1.5 celsius in the last two decades. So, we are officially on red alert", he said.

Anies said optimizing the electric-powered public transportation system is a solution to the problem of global climate change, but its implementation requires a lot of funding.

"But to continue to develop and increase the use of electric vehicles we need more funding, around 205 billion dollars is needed annually to achieve this transformation within a decade, only in C40 cities", he said.

C40 City is a network that connects 97 major cities in the world that have committed to taking progressive steps related to climate change.

Anies said investment in public transportation should be a priority so that support from governments around the world is needed to achieve the target of fighting climate change.

"So, long-term financial and government support is urgently needed, without greater investment from all governments around the world, we will not be able to achieve our climate targets", he concluded.