Letters: Climate change champion

Indonesia was a successful host to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007 and is a leader among nations, as membership of the G20 attests. There is an opportunity for the government of Indonesia to earn more social and political capital in the international arena: to become the first among the developing countries to declare its own national Emissions Reduction Target.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) enables us to convert the environmental liabilities of greenhouse gas emissions from landfill gas into clean energy and carbon credit revenues.

In mid-May, I was a guest of the World Bank Institute, with two Indonesian colleagues from the Ministry for the Environment and others from ASEAN and African countries, to learn how the Chinese government promotes CDM projects in order to be the No.1 carbon credit producing nation.

A month later, I was invited by the Asian Development Bank in Manila to Clean Energy Week together with Indonesian government department officials, including Monty Girianna of The National Planning Board (BAPPENAS) who wrote on the challenges of promoting renewable energy (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 14).

Both China and India are refusing to consider reduction targets for themselves, blaming the industrialized nations for past and continued emissions. I would advise the Indonesian government to go against this stance and actually set an example by announcing a reasonable and achievable Emissions Reduction Target. This will create additional demand for carbon credits and encourage private sector and some state-owned companies to participate in clean, energy-saving and efficient projects. Local financial institutions would then start to take the financing needs more seriously.

Voluntary reduction would create new opportunities for business and sustainable development. It is not easy to be a leader, but the challenge is on; Brazil is already in the race to be the next Climate Change Champion.

Joseph Hwang
Jakarta