Bappenas: Green Economy Crucial Due to Concrete Climate Change Impacts
Director of Environment at the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (PPN/Bappenas) Nizhar Marizi stated that a green economy is important for society because the impacts of climate change are very concrete.
“Why is this (green economy) important for society, for our population? Because the impacts (of climate change) are indeed very concrete,” he said in a statement confirmed in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He explained that a green economy is a development model that can balance national prosperity with environmental sustainability.
This means that on one hand it remains focused on investment, capital, and infrastructure, encouraging job creation, while also producing a greener workforce with green jobs and implementing more environmentally friendly activities in order to create cleaner and more sustainable growth.
Moreover, the impacts of climate change such as unpredictable weather, frequent flooding, drought, and rising sea levels are already occurring, he continued in the Bappenas Podcast themed “Green Indonesia Future Initiative (GIFT): Accelerating Indonesia’s Green Economy Transformation” in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/8).
To respond to climate change, a green economy development model is needed to protect the environment while driving growth in both economic and social aspects.
One of the initiatives Bappenas has prepared to intervene in the impacts of climate change is GIFT, a collaborative programme with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to strengthen institutional capacity, initiate green investment, and further accelerate the green economy foundation that has already been built.
In other words, GIFT aims to connect three aspects of the green economy that have so far operated independently: policy planning, investment mobilisation, and implementation.
“This is intended to be integrated into a good and synergistic cooperation, so that GGGI with its capacity can bring and present expertise in green investment, both expertise and investment in Indonesia, especially as its membership continues to grow and GGGI becomes increasingly recognised, so that its networks can be utilised by Indonesia,” Nizhar said.
“Meanwhile Indonesia, in this case Bappenas, also has an obligation to ensure that all activities and all investments remain aligned with national development priorities,” he said.
Through GIFT, he hopes to accelerate the green economy by further expanding its impact, especially in terms of green jobs, increasing access to renewable energy, and ensuring benefits are distributed evenly across various regions.
“This cooperation is not just about target figures, but must also be felt directly, whether by farmers, fishermen, workers, and families whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources and who are also very vulnerable to the weather and climate changes we are experiencing today,” said the Director of Environment at Bappenas.