Secretary General Of The Ministry Of Environment And Forestry: COP26 Opportunity For Indonesia To Lead Climate Change Management

Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Secretary General of KLHK) Bambang Hendroyono/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Sekjen KLHK) Bambang Hendroyono said that holding the Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow was an opportunity for Indonesia to lead the handling of global climate change.

"This COP26 means a lot to Indonesia, because we will be the leaders regarding climate change," he said when met on the sidelines of the opening of the Indonesian Pavilion at the COP26 United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, England, which was followed online, Monday, November 1st.

Over the years, Bambang said Indonesia had taken many concrete actions in an effort to control climate change.

"Real actions have been recorded in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Updated NDC Indonesia," he explained.

In the forestry sector, he continued, Indonesia has a Forest and Land Use (FoLU) Net Sink agenda in 2030. This means that by 2030 the absorption of carbon emissions in the forestry and land sectors will be balanced.

"The policy includes part of the NDC's contribution of 29 percent and 41 percent with international support," he said.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry stated that one of the main activities towards the FoLU 2030 Net Sink includes activities to reduce the rate of deforestation and forest degradation, development of energy crops, and law enforcement.

"All of these are clear expectations, the forestry sector will be the lead for accelerating Indonesia's commitment to controlling climate change," he said.

Bambang also said that the COP26 can also reinforce Indonesia's commitment and ambition in controlling climate change by holding the earth's temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"Technology and human resource development with digitalization can strengthen our contribution to be an example for other countries in their commitment to keep the temperature at no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, and maintain it so it doesn't exceed it," he explained.