Indonesian People Don't Believe In Climate Change, MUI Asks Religious Leaders To Step In

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JAKARTA - Chairman of the Institute for Environmental and Natural Resources Restoration of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Hayu S Prabowo asked religious leaders to help encourage people to care about the issue of climate change.

"We can only eat from what the earth created, so the earth must be maintained so that it can still grow plants. Climate change is important because climate change causes extreme weather and disasters so that raw materials are reduced," said Hayu in the webinar "Literacy and Scientific Action Interfaith Religious Youth," which was monitored in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, November 30.

Indonesia is the country with the least belief in climate change, followed by the people of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Therefore, according to Hayu, religious leaders must participate in disseminating the issue of climate change so that people are encouraged to take real action to preserve the earth.

Based on data collected by Hayu, the Indonesian economy during 2009 to 2019 grew an average of 5 percent per year in line with the increase in the number of natural disasters.

"It can be seen from 2016 onwards, the number of natural disasters that occur is increasing. When 2020 the economy declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of natural disasters also decreases," he said.

In 2015, natural disasters that occurred in Indonesia were recorded as 1,694 natural disasters. The number of natural disasters that occur continues to increase to reach 3,814 natural disasters in 2019.

Meanwhile, in line with the weakening economy, the number of natural disasters also fell to 2,939 in 2020.

The most common natural disasters in Indonesia are floods, landslides, and forest fires, which are also influenced by human activities. Meanwhile, natural disasters that occur purely due to earth activities such as earthquakes or tsunamis are less common.

"In 2020, the number of floods actually increased. Even though at that time the overall number of disasters had decreased. This is one of the effects of extreme weather that makes when it rains very heavily and when it is dry it becomes very dry," he said.