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Indonesia backs global push to save glaciers
As Papua’s Carstensz Pyramid snowcap melts, Indonesia calls for multilateral efforts to slow the pace of warming at the inaugural glaciers conference.
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The glacier on the Puncak Jaya summit in Papua’s central highlands is pictured on July 2, 2010. (AFP/David Christenson/Papua Project Freeport McMoran)
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s the last remnants of ice atop Papua’s Carstensz Pyramid rapidly disappear, Indonesia has joined global calls for urgent multilateral climate action to protect glaciers and ice sheets, which hold around 70 percent of the world’s freshwater, from intensifying global warming and climate-related threats.
Jakarta made its commitment during the inaugural High-Level Conference on Glacier Preservation (HLCGP) that concluded on Saturday in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The three-day landmark conference drew over 2,200 delegates from 65 countries, including senior leaders and heads of state, as well as high-level representatives from around 70 international organizations.
Representing the Indonesian delegation at the event, Second Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said that glacier loss was not only an issue for mountainous countries or those with colder climates, but also for tropical nations like Indonesia.
“Indonesia may be a tropical country, but we have glaciers too. Tragically, 99 percent of the glacier area in Papua’s Carstensz Pyramid has vanished due to climate change,” Arrmanatha said during the conference’s plenary meeting, as quoted by a release issued by his office.
He was referring to the peak of the Jayawijaya mountain range in Central Papua. The summit, also known as Puncak Jaya, stands at 4,884 meters above sea level, making it the highest point in Indonesia.
In April, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warned that the Carstensz Pyramid could see its glacier area totally lost by 2026 following alarming rates of ice coverage loss over the past centuries. From an area of 19 square kilometers in 1850, the glacier had shrunk to just 0.34 sq km in 2020.
"Indonesia fully supports strengthening trust in the multilateral system, especially through fair climate finance and access to adaptive technologies. Preserving glaciers is preserving the future of humanity,” Arrmanatha added.
