VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has an important role in climate action as the country has set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.

“In addition, Indonesia has a conditional target to phase out coal use by 2040," she noted at a conference entitled ‘The Indonesia International Conference for Sustainable Finance and Economy’ on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Hence, the government is committed to not adding new coal-fired power plants so as to achieve a carbon net sink by 2030, she said.

"It is very important since the power plants account for 60 percent of Indonesia's emissions," the minister added.

She also informed that recently, the government has stipulated the implementation of a carbon tax through the Law on Harmonization of Tax Regulations (UU HPP).

This shows that the Indonesian government is committed to realizing environmentally friendly and sustainable development, in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), Indrawati said.

The policy is expected to encourage and improve the implementation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs in the domestic business and economy sectors, she added.

The policy also aims to achieve the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target by 2030 through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 29 percent independently and 41 percent with international support, she said.

In addition to discussing sustainability and economic issues as well as collaborative efforts among countries and industry players to address future challenges, the conference also preceded Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, which would be held in 2022.

Indrawati noted that this will be Indonesia’s first G20 Presidency. Italy handed over the G20 Presidency to Indonesia during the Rome Summit on October 30–31, 2021.

“Indonesia has determined the themed for its G20 Presidency as ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’, reflecting Indonesia's hope and readiness to participate in global partnerships to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and increase global trust towards Indonesia,” she added.  (Antaranews)