Govt, climate council differ on foreign financial aids
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 01/14/2009 11:25 PM
The government and the National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) are at odds over how to use financial aid from donor countries given to help Indonesia mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) said that, with the finance ministry, it would establish a new climate change trust fund that would pool all foreign aid allocated for climate change.
"The trust fund will be separate from the council (DNPI) so all financial assistance from donors will be provided via the trust fund rather than the implementing agencies," Bappenas director of forestry and water resource conservation Basah Hernowo told The Jakarta Post after inter-department meeting on Wednesday.
He was referring to the implementing agencies of the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Basah's statement contradicted Executive Chairman of the National Council on Climate Change Rachmat Witoelar, who said that all climate money would go to the council.
"As a national council, we will manage all activities related to climate change in the country. All incoming money from donors will go through the council," Rachmat, who is also State Minister for the Environment, told the Post on Tuesday.
He said that the council would then disburse the money to the sectors.
The minister has repeatedly said that Indonesia, as one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming, would receive a huge amount of money from donors who want to help the country deal with the problem.
A number of nations have pledged to provide grants and loans to Indonesia, including The United States, which has promised to provide a US$2.8 million grant to help Indonesia protect its biodiversity and combat climate change.
The German government has promised to provide $30 million and Australia has offered $30 million to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through forestry projects in Kalimantan.
The governments of Japan and France have pledged to provide soft loans of $400 million and $200 million respectively for climate change mitigation in Indonesia.
