Minister Raja Juli: Carbon Trading a Major Opportunity for Forest Restoration and Green Investment

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni is encouraging the utilisation of carbon trading as a source of financing from the private sector to support reforestation and forest restoration activities in Indonesia. According to Raja Juli, this scheme is expected to transform the business orientation of the forestry sector, shifting from previously extractive activities towards restoration efforts. “This is truly our opportunity to plant, and for them (the private sector) to change their business from logging to planting. From extractive to restoration,” said Raja Juli. To support the development of forestry financing based on Nature-based Solutions, the Ministry of Forestry is preparing spatial data containing information on potential locations, types of activities, and forest management governance. This data will later be integrated with Forest Utilisation Business Licensing areas and social forestry areas to identify suitable zones for planting, restoration, and carbon trading projects. “We are thoroughly collecting data and providing guidance on planting methods and so on. So, if anyone wants to plant, there is a clear location, clear activity, and a clear process,” he stated. Raja Juli assessed that providing this data and guidance will offer certainty to business actors interested in investing in the forestry sector. He emphasised that the government will also ensure that every carbon trading project meets applicable quality standards, credibility, and governance to boost market confidence. The minister explained that this policy is part of the government’s implementation of the carbon economic value mechanism as a climate change control instrument, based on Presidential Regulation No. 110 of 2025 concerning the Development of the Carbon Economic Value Mechanism to support greenhouse gas emission control and the achievement of national climate targets.