Experts urge the House to sign Kyoto Protocol

JAKARTA: A group of academics on Wednesday called on the House of Representatives (DPR) to ratify the Kyoto Protocol as part of efforts to reduce green house gas emissions.

Kamaruddin Abdullah, a scientist at the Center for Research on Engineering Applications in Tropical Agriculture at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said Indonesia would enjoy several benefits from ratifying the Protocol, including foreign grants.

"But there is no clear institution at present that coordinates efforts to reduce green house gas emissions," he said.

The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1987 in Kyoto, Japan, in which developed countries agreed to limit greenhouse gases. --JP