By AFP - Agence France Presse
Indonesia backs climate deal after Paris envoy's skepticism
Indonesia's Environment Ministry has backed Jakarta's participation in the landmark Paris climate agreement after the country's climate envoy suggested the deal was irrelevant due to Washington's withdrawal.
Indonesia's special envoy for climate change and energy, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, questioned last week why his country should continue to participate in the agreement to limit warming after President Donald Trump withdrew again from the deal.
“If the United States doesn't want to comply with the international agreement, why should a country like Indonesia comply with it?” he said, calling the issue a question of justice.
Hashim's office did not respond to requests for comment on the remarks.
But in a statement to AFP, the Environment Ministry backed the climate agreement.
Indonesia “needs to demonstrate its commitment to addressing global environmental impacts,” said senior Environment Ministry official Ari Sudijanto, listing the “benefits Indonesia has gained” as a signatory to climate agreements, including Paris.
“Indonesia has taken an important role in various efforts to mitigate climate change at regional and global levels,” he added.
The ministry refused to answer directly whether Jakarta was considering leaving the agreement or whether it endorsed Hashim's statement.
But Ari said that “participation in global agreements is beneficial for Indonesia's environmental and climate change control programs, strategies and policies.”
Coal-dependent Indonesia is one of the world's biggest emitters, but the country's new president, Prabowo Subianto, has pledged to phase out coal power in just 15 years.
The country has also pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a decade earlier than previously planned.
A spokesperson for the presidential office did not respond to a request for comment on Hashim's remarks.
The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and is seen as key to coordinating global action on climate change.
Environmentalists fear that Trump's withdrawal will undermine global cooperation on reducing the use of fossil fuels and could encourage the main polluters, such as China and India, to weaken their commitments.
Argentina, under libertarian president Javier Milei, has already said it is “re-evaluating” its participation in the agreement.
Hashim's remarks have caused alarm among environmental groups in Indonesia.
Uli Arta Siagian, an activist with the climate group WALHI, called Hashim's comments “a step backwards in Indonesia's climate commitments”.
Uli told AFP that climate and environmental skeptics in Indonesia's government have received a “strong boost” with Trump's withdrawal from Paris.
Norly Mercado, Asia regional director of climate network 350.org, warned Indonesia not to “hide behind the US government's betrayal of global climate goals”.
mrc-sah/sn
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