Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has asked that environmental funds be prioritized for the forestry, energy, mineral resources, carbon trading, environmental service, agriculture, marine fisheries, transportation, and waste management sectors.
He made the statement while opening the “National Meeting of the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH)” here on Wednesday, which was attended by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), several ministers, as well as 25 governors and acting governors.
BPDLH could bridge the realization of the 2015 Paris Agreement targets and the 2022 G20 Summit results, especially Indonesia’s latest commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
In its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat on September 23, 2022, Indonesia has increased its emission reduction target to 31.89 percent through its own efforts and 43.20 percent with international assistance.
“In 2018, the government established the BPDLH, which functions as a financing tool for environmental protection and management attempts,” the coordinating minister stated.
The environmental funds managed by the BPDLH originating outside the state budget (APBN) scheme have reached US$968.6 million (equivalent to about Rp14.52 trillion), he noted.
The funds have been obtained from the government’s Reforestation Funds — collected in the form of retribution from forestry timber producers — as well as international assistance provided by the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, and the Ford Foundation, among others, he informed.
“The funds can be utilized by various parties, including ministries/agencies (K/L) and local governments,” Hartarto said.
Furthermore, the BPDLH national meeting will disseminate information on the global and national environmental protection and management commitments, including climate change mitigation, and discuss the role of local governments in achieving the commitments, he informed.
The meeting will also discuss the coordination mechanisms and working relations between the central government and regional governments in managing environmental funds.
In addition, the meeting will identify cooperation potential between the central and regional governments for mobilizing global and national funding sources through the BPDLH.
The meeting is being held in Jakarta on December 21–22, 2022.
Source: Antara News