Indonesia says 60 per cent cut in carbon emissions possible

As rich nations continue to debate whether they can cut carbon emissions by even 20 to 30 per cent over the next few decades, Indonesia's national climate change council yesterday said that the country could slash emissions by up to 60 per cent by 2030, providing it implements major policy changes and receives increased international support.

The council, which leads the country's participation in the UN's international climate change talks, released findings from a study warning that Indonesia's annual greenhouse gas emissions would reach 3.6 gigatonnes by 2030 if no action were taken – a 60 per cent increase from the 2005 level of 2.3 gigatonnes.

However, council secretary Agus Purnomo said that Indonesia had the potential to reduce carbon output by up to 2.3 gigatonnes by 2030 through a series of reduction measures, mostly in the forestry, peat land and agriculture sectors.

The measures could be funded by foreign countries, said Agus, although he failed to provide further details on how such financing mechanisms could work.

Indonesia is the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, with 80 per cent of its carbon footprint attributed to the degradation of peat land and the logging of its forests.

According to the study, which was conducted by global consulting firm McKinsey & Co on behalf of the council, emissions could be lowered to 1.3 gigatonnes, a 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels, if Indonesia slowed the rate at which it cut down its trees, protected peat land areas and implemented reforestation programmes.

Additional measures, such as greater use of public transportation and energy-efficient lightbulbs, combined with policies to preserve forestry and peat land, could help to reduce carbon out by up to 60 per cent by 2030, added Agus.

Indonesian environment minister Rahmat Witoelar, who also serves as the climate change council's executive chairman, agreed that the government needs to alter its policies in the areas of power plant planning, forestry, transportation and peat land management.

The changes "must be aimed at securing the sustainability of national economy [and] adhere to fairness principles and rules that had been outlined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change", he said.