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Post-COP28: Is Indonesia moving forward?
Indonesia needs US$1 trillion to achieve net zero (net balance of greenhouse gas emissions emitted and removed) by 2060.
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Activists protest against fossil fuels on Dec. 5, 2023, on the sidelines of the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. (AFP/Karim Sahib)
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fter two weeks of intense discussions in Dubai, the 28th session of the world’s most prominent climate conference, COP28, has finally ended, albeit a day late.
The conference comes at a critical time to achieve climate goals, responding to the first global stocktake of progress on climate action following the Paris Agreement (climate treaty which 196 countries have backed) eight years prior.
The spotlighted outcome, the “UAE Consensus”, sees a climate pact backed by 198 parties that is cited as a landmark push for countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Though understandably with its critiques, as is the case with many climate agreements, it is worth examining how the consensus and many deals made at COP28 will affect Indonesia’s climate journey moving forward.
In his official keynote speech at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit (WCAS), President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo stated that Indonesia needs US$1 trillion to achieve net zero (net balance of greenhouse gas emissions emitted and removed) by 2060. Therefore, an average of $30-40 million will be needed annually.
Aside from a net zero target, Indonesia has committed to reducing emissions by 31.89 percent independently or 43.2 percent with international assistance by 2030 in comparison to 2010 business-as-usual levels. A of 23-percent target for renewable energy within the national electricity mix by 2025 and 31 percent by 2050 has also been set. As of February 2023, renewable energy makes up 14.5 percent of the national electricity mix.
Hence, the scale of the challenge is not to be understated and requires accelerated action for Indonesia along three key levers, namely financing, technology and capacity building. This framework is taken from the Paris Agreement, which states that these three levers are critical to limiting the world’s global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably 1.5 degrees by 2100, compared to preindustrial levels. The world has already experienced warming of 1.2 degrees.
In total, COP28 saw $85 billion in investment committed from an array of actors and countries across different focus sectors along the climate spectrum, including energy, adaptation and inclusion. A notable announcement was the loss-and-damage fund, where $800 million was committed by the developed world to assist developing countries, which are most vulnerable to climate change.
