Indonesian Vice Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar rebutted the statement made by the UK’s Climate and International Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith on zero deforestation and the “COP26 Forest Agreement.”
Terming the statement as “perhaps unintentional but clearly erroneous and misleading,” Siregar clarified that no agreement had been reached by Tuesday (November 2, 2021) at the time the statement was issued while the COP26 was still in progress.
“The Leaders Meeting on Forest and Land Use was held on November 2 in Glasgow, and the declaration issued does not refer at all to the ‘end deforestation by 2030,'” Siregar noted in a statement on Thursday.
In contrast, at his recent speech at the leaders meeting on November 2, Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasized the key importance of positioning climate change policies to practical, on the ground, and effective forest management within a framework of sustainability that has delivered the lowest level of deforestation in two decades, amongst others.
While Indonesia’s efforts have been rightfully applauded, Siregar noted that at the same time, forest fires had raged through Europe, the Americas, and Australia, with devastating consequences on the environment.
“Indeed, Indonesia has offered to provide guidance on our forest management to countries that also possess the forest ecosystem,” he remarked.
“Although Indonesia is willing to engage in forest management at the global level to address climate change, it is important to move beyond mere narrative, rhetoric, arbitrary targets and sound bites; and in this respect, the tweet from Zac Goldsmith is unhelpful, false, and misguided,” he concluded.
In his tweet posted on November 2, Goldsmith noted that unprecedented commitments had been secured “from over 100 countries, representing well over 85% of the world forests, to end deforestation by 2030”.
Such a statement was part of the document titled “COP26 Forest Agreement” that was questioned by Indonesia.
Meanwhile, based on the leaders declaration on forests and land use agreed by 128 countries, including Indonesia, there is no mention of a statement about ending deforestation.
Instead of mentioning zero deforestation, the declaration reiterated the leaders’ commitment “to working collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.”
Source: Antara News