POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has emphasized that large tropical forest nations have substantial power, along with significant influence, when it comes to climate actions aimed at keeping global warming at below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and thus have strong positioning in climate negotiations at the upcoming COP26.
The minister said this in connection with a collaborative initiative for the development of “Tropical Forest Power in Climate Actions” which she spoke about after holding preliminary discussions on the matter in a virtual meeting with Brazilian Environment Minister Joaquim Alvaro Pereir Leite (Oct 22).
"The background to this virtual discussion is that Brazil and Indonesia are the world’s first and third largest tropical forest nations respectively, so of course they have significant influence on climate negotiations," Minister Nurbaya explained.
The minister said that she and her Brazilian counterpart were aligned in initiating the collaboration involving their respective countries as well as DR Congo - the world’s second largest tropical forest nation - through which they aim to cement their position as leaders in climate actions.
As the next step in the formation of the proposed initiative, Minister Nurbaya sent an official letter to Congo Kinshasa’s Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Eve Bazaiba Masudi (Oct 23) to invite her to join the initiative, dubbed ‘IBC' from the participating countries’ initials, explaining how the world’s three largest tropical forest nations should seek to influence climate negotiations and champion effective climate solutions.
"The joint efforts of the largest tropical forest nations (in the proposed initiative) would be very decisive and powerful in fighting the climate crisis," Minister Nurbaya enthused.
Recently, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, in a recorded speech played at the Indonesian Climate Festival Week (Oct 18), lauded the leadership of President Joko Widodo and Minister Nurbaya in reducing deforestation in Indonesia to its lowest level in the last 20 years, as depicted in the chart below.
Potential areas of collaboration
Minister Nurbaya laid out potential areas in which the members of the proposed IBC initiative could collaborate. These include climate actions encompassing reduced deforestation, fire management, social forestry and community-based forest management, climate fund management, sustainable agriculture, environmental land administration, biodiversity and bioprospecting, and mangrove rehabilitation and conservation, among others.
She went on to say that the proposed IBC initiative would greatly benefit all the countries involved in terms of climate actions and climate finance.
"We will be able to collaborate in these potential areas while remaining aligned with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities - whereby enhanced climate actions, such as climate adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector, are matched by enhanced climate finance. This is most notable among developed countries who years ago promised USD100 billion a year but have failed to make this a reality,” she said.
The proposed IBC collaboration, Minister Nurbaya continued, will also focus on advocating for a significant increase in funds for results-based payments for emissions reductions (ER) from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
“We need to see a rise in emissions reductions payments as these should represent prices at the ecosystem services level. For example, the current average price tag of USD5 per ton of CO2 equivalent is clearly far too low," the minister lamented.
She also named some other tropical forest countries that will potentially be invited to join the proposed initiative, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam.
Minister Nurbaya concluded by leaving the door open for non-tropical forest countries to also play a role, saying “we will also invite the largest temperate nations to join as observers in the proposed initiative.”
Indonesia has declared its 2030 net carbon sink for the forestry and land use sector. As previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jun 2), COP26 President Alok Sharma - after an official meeting with Minister Nurbaya who was representing President Widodo - tweeted “Encouraging meeting with Minister Siti discussing the role forests and land can play in Indonesian decarbonizing. Very pleased to hear her aim to make forests and land carbon neutral by 2030.”
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya has emphasized that large tropical forest nations have substantial power, along with significant influence, when it comes to climate actions aimed at keeping global warming at below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and thus have strong positioning in climate negotiations at the upcoming COP26.
The minister said this in connection with a collaborative initiative for the development of “Tropical Forest Power in Climate Actions” which she spoke about after holding preliminary discussions on the matter in a virtual meeting with Brazilian Environment Minister Joaquim Alvaro Pereir Leite (Oct 22).
"The background to this virtual discussion is that Brazil and Indonesia are the world’s first and third largest tropical forest nations respectively, so of course they have significant influence on climate negotiations," Minister Nurbaya explained.
The minister said that she and her Brazilian counterpart were aligned in initiating the collaboration involving their respective countries as well as DR Congo - the world’s second largest tropical forest nation - through which they aim to cement their position as leaders in climate actions.
As the next step in the formation of the proposed initiative, Minister Nurbaya sent an official letter to Congo Kinshasa’s Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Eve Bazaiba Masudi (Oct 23) to invite her to join the initiative, dubbed ‘IBC' from the participating countries’ initials, explaining how the world’s three largest tropical forest nations should seek to influence climate negotiations and champion effective climate solutions.
"The joint efforts of the largest tropical forest nations (in the proposed initiative) would be very decisive and powerful in fighting the climate crisis," Minister Nurbaya enthused.
Recently, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, in a recorded speech played at the Indonesian Climate Festival Week (Oct 18), lauded the leadership of President Joko Widodo and Minister Nurbaya in reducing deforestation in Indonesia to its lowest level in the last 20 years, as depicted in the chart below.
Potential areas of collaboration
Minister Nurbaya laid out potential areas in which the members of the proposed IBC initiative could collaborate. These include climate actions encompassing reduced deforestation, fire management, social forestry and community-based forest management, climate fund management, sustainable agriculture, environmental land administration, biodiversity and bioprospecting, and mangrove rehabilitation and conservation, among others.
She went on to say that the proposed IBC initiative would greatly benefit all the countries involved in terms of climate actions and climate finance.
"We will be able to collaborate in these potential areas while remaining aligned with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities - whereby enhanced climate actions, such as climate adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector, are matched by enhanced climate finance. This is most notable among developed countries who years ago promised USD100 billion a year but have failed to make this a reality,” she said.
The proposed IBC collaboration, Minister Nurbaya continued, will also focus on advocating for a significant increase in funds for results-based payments for emissions reductions (ER) from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
“We need to see a rise in emissions reductions payments as these should represent prices at the ecosystem services level. For example, the current average price tag of USD5 per ton of CO2 equivalent is clearly far too low," the minister lamented.
She also named some other tropical forest countries that will potentially be invited to join the proposed initiative, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam.
Minister Nurbaya concluded by leaving the door open for non-tropical forest countries to also play a role, saying “we will also invite the largest temperate nations to join as observers in the proposed initiative.”
Indonesia has declared its 2030 net carbon sink for the forestry and land use sector. As previously reported by FORESTHINTS.NEWS (Jun 2), COP26 President Alok Sharma - after an official meeting with Minister Nurbaya who was representing President Widodo - tweeted “Encouraging meeting with Minister Siti discussing the role forests and land can play in Indonesian decarbonizing. Very pleased to hear her aim to make forests and land carbon neutral by 2030.”
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