VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Promises by companies, banks and cities to achieve net-zero emissions often amount to little more than greenwashing, U.N. experts said in a report on Tuesday as they set out proposed new standards to harden net-zero claims.

The report, released at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, is intended to draw a "red line" around false claims of progress in the fight against global warming that can confuse consumers, investors and policy makers.

At last year's climate negotiations in Glasgow, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed 17 experts to review the integrity of non-state net-zero commitments amid concerns about "a surplus of confusion and deficit of credibility" around corporate climate claims.

"Too many of these net-zero pledges are little more than empty slogans and hype", group chair and Canada's former environment minister, Catherine McKenna, said during a news conference launching the report.

"Bogus net-zero claims drive up the cost that ultimately everyone will pay," she said.

Regulators across the world are starting to set tougher rules around what activities can be deemed environmentally friendly, yet progress is patchy and campaigners and activists are increasingly turning to the courts to challenge weak claims.

On Tuesday, an official at Australia's corporate watchdog said it was investigating several companies over greenwashing, in which a company or group makes exaggerated claims over the environmental impact of their products or practices.

Last month, meanwhile, Britain's financial watchdog proposed new rules from 2024 for funds and their managers to prevent consumers being misled about their climate credentials.

An estimated 80% of global emissions are now covered by pledges that commit to reaching net-zero emissions.

The report set out a list of recommendations that companies and other non-state actors should follow to ensure their claims are credible. For example, a company cannot claim to be net-zero if it continues to build or invest in new fossil fuel infrastructure or deforestation.

The report also dismisses the use of cheap carbon credits to offset continued emissions as a viable net-zero strategy, and recommends companies, financial institutions, cities and regions focus on outright emissions and not carbon intensity - a measure of how much carbon is emitted per unit of output.

The report was "potentially very significant, depending on the traction it gets", said Eric Christian Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management.

"If this report becomes a legal standard against which one can measure if a net-zero commitment is bona fide or not, then it... can provide ammunition for the lawsuits and regulatory action which are sorely needed to make the absence of climate action more expensive at the individual company level."

The report "gives companies, investors, cities, regions - and by implication, countries - a clear statement of what 'good' looks like", said Thomas Hale, a global public policy researcher at Oxford University and co-leader of the Net Zero Tracker project which measures the effectiveness of such pledges.

"We need to be clear that most net-zero targets are not on track," he told Reuters, noting the tracker found that only half of companies with pledges have robust plans.

Teresa Anderson, global lead for climate justice at poverty-eradication non-profit ActionAid International, said corporations had "long hidden behind net-zero announcements and carbon offsetting initiatives, with very little intention of really doing the hard work of transforming and cutting emissions."

"These recommendations will aim to keep them in line and close any loopholes." (Reuters)

The Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) put forth a proposal to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for the Indonesian national basketball team to hold friendly matches against participants of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

"We are proposing to FIBA, so that the Indonesian national team can play in the trials (friendly matches), although they do not qualify for the world cup," Secretary General of Perbasi Nirmala Dewi remarked here on Tuesday.

Hence, before implementation of the world cup matches, friendly matches will be held between the Indonesian national team and the world cup participants, she noted.

Indonesia will not take part in the 2023 FIBA World Cup despite being one of the three hosts of the tournament along with the Philippines and Japan.

The Indonesian national team failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup in July 2022, as the requirement to be eligible for competing in the world cup.

Nonetheless, Indonesia was keen to make the most of the opportunity as the host of the world cup, so Perbasi put forth the proposal for friendly matches to FIBA.

The friendly matches, planned to be held in April 2023, will also be organized to conduct a trial at the Indonesia Arena Stadium -- one of the venues of the world cup -- which is still being constructed at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, Jakarta.

However, the Perbasi secretary general said her side was unable to determine the opponents of the Indonesian national team in the friendly matches since FIBA was still awaiting the results of the World Cup group stage draw and the arrival schedule of the participating teams.

“We already proposed this (the friendly matches to FIBA) when we had a meeting in the Philippines, and it was approved. However, (who the opponents will be) will depend on the (World Cup group) draw later," she noted.

The draw is scheduled to take place in Manila in March 2023.

"We also do not know how many countries will play (in the friendly matches) against the (Indonesian) national team because everything is regulated by FIBA, such as the event schedule and so on. Thus, later, FIBA will decide which teams Indonesia will have friendly matches with," Dewi remarked.

The 2023 FIBA World Cup will be held from August 25 to September 10, 2023, at five venues in three countries.

The Philippines will host the matches for 16 participating countries, while Japan and Indonesia will host the matches of eight teams each. (Antaranews)

The Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture emphasized the importance of the capacity to test, trace, and treat COVID-19 cases amid the emergence of the new Omicron sub-variant called XBB.

"Increase the number of tests, especially for those who are in close contact and for those who have comorbidities," the ministry's deputy for coordination of health quality improvement and population development, Agus Suprapto, stated here, Wednesday.

Suprapto remarked that increasing the capacity for testing, tracing, and treating COVID-19 cases is the main key to suppress the spread of the virus, including the XBB sub-variant.

"The more tests we have, the better. We must know the real number of cases in the community," Suprapto stated.

Moreover, improving the capacity of COVID-19 testing is also important during the transition period toward the endemic, he remarked.

"We also remind the public to help us in increasing the capacity for the number of COVID-19 tests. Those who experience COVID-19 symptoms may conduct independent testing," he remarked.

He also reminded the public regarding the increasing trend in COVID-19 cases following the emergence of several cases of the latest Omicron sub-variant.

"As the minister of health said that the upward trend in COVID-19 cases will reach its peak no later than early January of 2023. Of course, this needs to be a common concern," he emphasized.

The ministry also urged the public to continue to strengthen health protocols as part of their personal and collective responsibility in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

He stated that personal responsibility included adhering to health protocols while collective responsibility is by equipping oneself with vaccinations starting from the first dose to booster doses to create group immunity.

"Pay attention to advice from the government regarding the importance of strengthening the health program and also the COVID-19 vaccination as an effort to suppress COVID-19 transmission in Indonesia," Suprapto added. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian government is negotiating cooperation with the International Partners Group (IPG) for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) program, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan informed on Tuesday.

"We plan to announce a joint statement on JETP within the G20 Presidency with IPG countries in Bali on November 15, 2022," he said during the “Energy Transition on Achieving Net Zero Emission a High Call for Urgency” talk show at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27) in Egypt, which was streamed online on Tuesday.

Indonesia is ready to implement the JETP program, he added.

The program will involve the phase-down of coal power plants and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Indonesian government has said that the energy transition should be just and affordable to improve clean energy transition driven by a sustainable financing mechanism, Minister Pandjaitan stressed.

It has also formulated a presidential regulation on the development of renewable energy for the provision of electricity, he added.

This action will create a framework that broadly allows a clean energy transition.It is also in line with the road map and guidelines for expediting the transition from coal to clean energy, the minister said.

The road map considers the post-retirement plan for decommissioning or repurposing coal plants using low carbon emission technology to ensure energy security for the growth of the Indonesian economy, the minister explained.

Energy transition funding schemes, such as the JTP, have become one of the main tools for supporting Indonesia's energy transition.

This is because Indonesia requires investment worth US$25 million–30 million until 2030 to expedite the energy transition.

The JETP program is capable of supporting Indonesia by providing real value through donations, soft loans, or market investments, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment deputy Nani Hendiarti said, according to the ministry’s website.

Fair transition is a mitigation action for reducing CO2 emissions to help Indonesia become worthy of receiving international support and make its Nationally Determined Contributions target more ambitious, she stressed.

She said she believes that, through JETP, Indonesia will be able to achieve the carbon emission reduction target of 31.9 percent without conditions and 43.2 percent with international support.

“The presidential regulation on renewable energy development acceleration has been signed," she added.

"We are ready to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the energy transition, including early retirement of coal power plants and the development of renewable energy," she said. (Antaranews)