RI eyes benefit from Kyoto Protocol

RI eyes benefit from Kyoto Protocol

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is in talks with a number of industrialized countries
regarding environmentally friendly projects that take advantage
of opportunities in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a
ramification of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that takes effect
internationally on Wednesday.

The long-awaited protocol commits developed countries grouped
in Annex 1 to slash their carbon dioxide (CO2) emission levels by
5.2 percent from their 1990 levels, and Indonesia is offering
projects to help them beat the 2012 deadline.

Among countries that have shown interest in Indonesia's offers
-- mostly in the energy and forestry sectors -- are the
Netherlands, Japan, Denmark, Austria and Canada, said Sudariyono,
the deputy for environmental conservation at the Office of the
State Minister of Environment.

"The Netherlands wants to 'buy' carbon by investing in power
plants that already have plans and resources to switch into new
technology that reduce carbon emissions, like from coal to
geothermal," Sudariyono explained.

Japan, on the other hand, was also wanting to fund technology
change. They also have more varied interests, such as in the
forestry, transportation and waste management sectors, he added.

The CDM is basically a carbon trading scheme in which
industrialized nations invest in environmental projects in
developing countries that reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).

These countries will pay a certain amount of money for each
ton of carbon saved, and then be granted a reduction in their
emission levels until they reach the 5.2 percent cut off point.

Under the UN accord, the carbon market is one of three ways
aimed at reducing carbon pollution, the main culprit in causing
global warming, by curbing the use of coal, oil and natural gas,
and shifting to cleaner energies like solar and wind power.

Kyoto Protocol took effect 90 days after Russia ratified it. A
major polluter, Russia was the pact's key nation after the
biggest polluters, like the United States and Australia, pulled
out, saying it was too costly and unfairly exempted rapidly
industrializing, but non-Annex 1, countries like China and India.

Rising global temperatures have been linked to extreme weather
events, like droughts, flooding and higher sea levels. Experts
predict that average temperatures will rise 4.5 degrees Celsius
by 2100 unless immediate steps are taken to reduce GHG emissions
into the atmosphere.

Another project type available in the CDM is reforestation,
where industrialized countries can help regrow Indonesia's
perishing forests that are disappearing at the rate of 3.5
million hectares per year due to uncontrolled logging.

Sudariyono, who will chair the national commission on CDM,
said the government was also familiarizing carbon-emitting firms
here with the mechanisms.

"We'll benefit so much by getting in new investment and also a
cleaner environment. We could also stall rising air
temperatures," he said, adding that Indonesia emits up to 35
million tons of carbon per year.

Sudariyono emphasized the need for Indonesia to be aggressive
in approaching advanced nations in order to compete with
neighboring countries in obtaining the economic benefits provided
by the Kyoto Protocol.

"We'll offer more qualified projects that reduce more carbon,
a guarantee that the projects will be sustainable and of course,
a more negotiable price of carbon," he said.

Related stories on Pages 3,11
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