As the global climate change conference wrapped in Bonn, Germany, the European Union started to walk the talk, with the bloc and its member states kicking off Climate Diplomacy Week in Indonesia to raise public awareness on climate change issues.

From Sunday until Friday, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom will present a series of events in Jakarta including conferences, movie screenings and a bike ride.

The EU Climate Diplomacy Week is an annual event held by EU delegations around the globe for the last three years, with the main objective being to communicate and unpack climate action with the public while stressing the importance of other environmental issues.

This year’s event was launched 10 days after discussions on climate change at the COP23 meeting, during which governments maintained their 2015 global agreements to tackle climate change despite being overshadowed by United States President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out from the Paris climate accord.

Governments of nearly 200 nations have agreed to launch a process in 2018 to start reviewing an existing plan to limit greenhouse emissions as part of a long-term effort.

The EU has high hopes that Indonesia will continue to fight climate change as the EU delegation is meeting with the Environment and Forestry Ministry on Monday to talk about several issues.

“One of those is we are going to talk about measures on how to limit Indonesia’s greenhouse level,” Vincent Guerend, EU ambassador to Indonesia, told reporters on Sunday.

Guerend was speaking at a media briefing at the official residence of Swedish Ambassador to Jakarta Johanna Brismar Skoog.

The event was preceded by a bike ride from the EU Mission’s office to the Swedish ambassador’s residence.

As one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, Indonesia is committed to reducing its emissions level by 29 percent, and up to 41 percent with international assistance, by 2030.

Several projects supported by the EU are running in the archipelago, including land planning and promoting sustainable forest management in Aceh.

The EU and its member states also assist Indonesia with a number of initiatives supporting climate change policies and practices by the Indonesian government institutions. One of them is the fight against deforestation through the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Partnership Agreement.

However, Skoog said the government was not the only party bearing the responsibility to mitigate climate change and take care of the environment.

“It’s not only the government, but also the businesspeople and each every one of us can make a change in this issue,” she said.

She added that the Swedish government, which has set an ambitious target of making the country free from fossil fuels by 2040, has urged every Swedish company operating in Indonesia to contribute to creating a climate-friendly ecosystem.

When Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf visited Jakarta in May, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called on the European country as Indonesia’s largest trade partner in the Nordic area, to continue cooperation in energy and environmental areas.

Speaking on the US’ decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Accord on climate change, Guerend said the decision was regrettable.

He, however, was certain that many local actors would continue to fight global warming.

“I’m certain that local actors in the city or society level have decided to maintain their level of commitment on the issue. It will reassure many others to go forward,” he said.

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