After being delayed for a year because of the pandemic, the climate conference kicked off on Sunday and is scheduled to run until Nov. 12. In a show of commitment, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to attend the COP26’s World Leaders Summit on Monday and Tuesday.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Owen Jenkins said Indonesia could play a strategic role in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, in line with the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, namely by limiting the rise in global average temperatures to around 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.

“Indonesia is critical for climate action given its size, status as a G20 [Group of 20] member and its extraordinary natural resources; forests, which are vital for millions of livelihoods and for absorbing greenhouse gas emissions, and fossil fuels, which needs to be phased out rapidly to prevent the worst of global heating,” Jenkins said in a media briefing on Thursday.

Jenkins also encouraged Indonesia to be “as ambitious as possible” at COP26, adding that UK-Indonesia cooperation on mitigating climate change and fostering low carbon development would remain “a key part” in the bilateral relationships between Jakarta and London going forward.

“I’m confident that Indonesia will continue to demonstrate leadership in this area and we will see further successes as a result of this leadership and of our partnership,” Jenkins said.

He went on to applaud Indonesia’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 “or sooner”, but added that the UK would “welcome Indonesia’s openness in considering a higher ambition toward net-zero [in] 2050 and an earlier coal phase-out".

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