VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Countries were struggling to reach agreement at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt on Saturday, with some threatening to walk away if negotiators failed to make progress on fighting climate change.

With the talks already in overtime, officials from the 27-country European Union said they were worried about a lack of progress overnight and even the possibility of backsliding from parts of the COP26 climate deal agreed in Glasgow, Scotland, last year.

"All (EU) ministers ... are prepared to walk away if we do not have a result that does justice to what the world is waiting for - namely that we do something about this climate crisis," EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.

"We'd rather have no decision than a bad decision."

The outcome of the conference, which was meant to end on Friday, aims to strengthen global resolve to fight climate change, even as a war in Europe and rampant consumer inflation distract international attention.

But after two weeks of talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, none of the key issues in discussion this year had been resolved.

The Egyptian COP27 president urged parties to "rise to the occasion" and unite around a final deal, while defending the version so-far drafted.

"The text does keep the 1.5 alive," said Sameh Shoukry, who is Egypt's foreign minister.

Negotiators said they had not seen a fresh draft of an overall deal since Friday morning, although they had reviewed separate draft compromises for deals on the stickiest issues.

That draft had reaffirmed past commitments to limit warming to 1.5C, but did not meet demands by some, including the European Union and Britain, to lock in country commitments for more ambitious efforts to curb climate-warming emissions.

Dutch climate minister Rob Jetten said many countries were unhappy at lack of progress on commitments to cut emissions to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius - the threshold at which scientists say the effects of climate change will get much worse.

"It's simply not good enough," Jetten told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit. "We're still waiting for some texts, but it feels like we're backtracking on Glasgow and that will be unacceptable."

Friday's draft for an overall deal also did not take on a suggestion by India that has been backed by the EU and Britain to ask countries to phase down all fossil fuel use, instead of just coal.

LOSS AND DAMAGE

The fractious issue of so-called loss and damage payments to countries already being hit by climate impacts had negotiators scrambling Saturday to hash out a deal for a fund to help countries being ravaged by climate-driven floods, droughts, mega-storms and wildfires.

In what the European Union hoped would be a breakthrough on the issue, it agreed Thursday to back the demand of the G77 group of 134 developing countries to set up a special fund.

But while some climate-vulnerable countries such as the Maldives expressed support, it was unclear whether the world's two biggest economies and polluters - China and the United States - would sign on.

The EU's offer came with the stipulation that the funding come from a broad base of countries including China, and that only "the most vulnerable countries" benefit from the aid.

Complicating matters, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry – a powerful force in climate diplomacy – tested positive for COVID-19 after days of bilateral in-person meetings with counterparts from China and the EU to Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

A deal at COP27 must be made with support from all of the nearly 200 countries present. (Reuters)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a policy-based loan of US$500 million to support the reform of Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The loan will cover the first subprogram under the SOEs Reform Program that will help Indonesia to improve the efficiency and resilience of SOEs as well as strengthen their corporate governance framework.

In an official statement received on Friday, ADB Senior Public Management Specialist for Southeast Asia Yurendra Basnett noted that SOEs could play a vital role in encouraging inclusive and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

"However, to deliver greater value to the public, their structural weaknesses must be addressed. ADB is pleased to support the government's reforms to SOEs," he stated.

The program aligns with the comprehensive and ambitious 2020-2024 SOEs Road Map that introduces a series of reforms to transform SOEs and ensure their contribution to Indonesia's goal of becoming a high-income country by 2045.

The program will support the reduction in the number of SOEs as well as necessitate them to focus on their core operations, so that SOEs can become financially viable and provide essential public services efficiently.

The program supports efforts to boost the quality of SOE boards, strengthen financial monitoring and transparency, and help SOEs transition to a climate-compatible business model.

The German Development Bank, or Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau (KFW), will also provide co-financing, with a loan worth 300 million euros, or US$295.8 million.

As of 2021, Indonesia has over 100 SOEs, with total assets of US$610 billion, or equivalent to around 53 percent of Indonesia's GDP. They provide various public services, including electricity, pharmaceuticals, air navigation services, food distribution, and logistics.

SOEs are an essential source of state revenue through the payment of dividends and taxes. They have been on the forefront of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and were the main pillars of the national economic recovery.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic having negatively impacted SOEs, with an 89-percent decrease in consolidated net income between 2019 and 2020, their financial performance continues to improve.

From 2020 to 2021, the consolidated net profit of SOEs rose, from Rp13.3 trillion to Rp124 trillion. Thereafter, the return on assets increased, from 0.2 percent to 1.4 percent, and the return on equity increased, from 0.5 percent to 4.5 percent.

The continuous reform of SOEs will be essential to ensure that they continue to support Indonesia's medium- to long-term development goals. (antaranews)

Indonesia and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on countering terrorism on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on Wednesday (November 16).

"The MoU signing with Canada is a milestone that strengthens cooperation in handling terrorists that had been well developed so far," Head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Commissioner General Boy Rafli Amar stated here on Saturday.

The MoU was signed by BNPT and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development (DFATD).

According to BNPT, the cooperation on strengthening counterterrorism was agreed on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali on November 16.

Canada is an important partner for Indonesia in countering terrorism, Amar stated. The MoU signing was based on the Indonesia-Canada Action Plan cooperation framework for 2022-2025.

The cooperation includes exchange of information, capacity building, and good practices that have been carried out by the two countries as well as expert-level meetings.

Within the framework, Indonesia and Canada are committed to strengthening cooperation in countering terrorism, preventing and eradicating transnational crimes, and combating human smuggling and trafficking through capacity building.

Bilateral cooperation in prevention and countermeasures of terrorism focus on human rights and gender-based approaches, Amar pointed out.

Moreover, he noted that the act of terrorism that took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 13 reaffirmed that the potential threat of terrorism is still present and real.

"No single country can tackle terrorism alone. For this reason, international cooperation is absolutely necessary and must continue to be improved," he explained.

Following the ideals of independence, he said, Indonesia has a noble goal to realize world order that is free from all threats, including terrorism.

The MoU signing was conducted by BNPT Head Boy Rafli Amar and Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Nadia Burger. (antaranews)

Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Minister Basuki Hadimuljono highlighted that Indonesia's new capital city (IKN) Nusantara has attracted the interest of G20 member countries during the G20 Summit.

"In the G20 Summit forum that has just been held in Bali, IKN is one of the topics that attracted the interest of the G20 countries," he stated during an online discussion themed "The Importance of Disaster Mitigation in IKN Planning," monitored on Saturday.

G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year. The G20 Summit was held in Bali on November 15-16, 2022.

G20 member countries that showed interest in IKN are Japan, and South Korea. Besides them, the United Arab Emirates also showed its interest.

"Even in the High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) Special Event forum in Bali as part of the G20 Summit, IKN was a special topic that was discussed and attended by participants to understand and provide inputs on water and disasters based on their own experiences," Hadimuljono further noted.

At the HELP forum, a follow-up workshop was proposed on account of the fact that sustainable water management in the new capital was not yet discussed in detail.

"Several universities proposed to discuss in further detail about sustainable water management in IKN," he remarked.

The PUPR Ministry is optimistic that the follow-up workshop related to sustainable water management in IKN would be held in early 2023.

Earlier, Minister Hadimuljono lauded South Korea's plan to participate in developing a clean water system in Nusantara.

The minister remarked that for the initial plan, the construction would start in 2024, but his ministry hopes to accelerate the process of preparing detailed technical plans, so that the installation can be built starting in 2023.

Hadimuljono is upbeat about the South Korean government actively participating in supporting the preparation up to the implementation of the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) scheduled on May 18-24, 2024, in Bali. (antaranews)