Climate change policy footprint amid threat of global warming

Harry Alexander , Jakarta Tue, 06/17/2008 10:05 AM Opinion

Global warming has arrived, in more ways than one. There is now scientific consensus that global warming is taking place and that the burning of fossil fuels has contributed to it. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes two things clear: first, global warming is a fact. And second, a delay in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will increase the risk of global disasters -- from droughts, floods and storms, to declines in agricultural productivity and food security as well as rising sea levels.
Indonesia ratified the convention on the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in November 1950, and has been actively involved in the organization. In 1988, the WMO and the United Nations Environment Program established the IPCC. Indonesia has also committed itself to participating in all UN General Assembly meetings, in particular the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article will examine the Indonesian government's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The first IPCC report was published in 1990. The key findings were as follows: "Emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide. These increases will enhance the greenhouse effect, resulting on average in an additional warming of the Earth's surface."
Despite this report, the Indonesian government's response in addressing the problem has been lackadaisical. In 1990, a conservation law was passed. Unfortunately, it was enacted not as a legal basis for climate change policies, but merely to respond to Article 12 of Law No. 4/1982 on the environment. The 1993 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree on state policy guidelines (GBHN) is also similarly oblivious to the IPCC's recommendations.
Likewise, when the government ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994, it failed to implement regulations that would reduce GHG emissions.
In 1995, the IPCC released a second report, reaffirming "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate change". This report served as the basis for negotiations in the Kyoto Protocol.
The protocol has been adopted by most governments around the world, and 1996 was a pivotal year for environmental and natural resource laws and policies in Indonesia: an environmental law and a marine law were enacted that year.
But even as these laws were passed, the government failed to recognize climate change as a key environmental problem. As the world's longest and largest archipelagic state, Indonesia is at high risk from the adverse effects of climate change, including rising sea levels in low coastal areas, which pose immense threats to the country's marine ecosystems, biodiversity and fishing industry.
And to make matters worse, a government regulation on forestry was passed in 1999, which, given its centralistic and exploitative character, will significantly aid in devastating the country's forests -- forests that can offset the effects of climate change by acting as a massive carbon sink.
However, there has been some progress. In the same year, conservation efforts were boosted by the passing of four regulations, which became the legal basis for environmental conservation and pollution control. They enabled government agencies to allocate existing national parks as carbon sinks.
The IPCC's third report, issued in 2001, states, "There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".
The report also highlighted the major role of fossil fuels in contributing to GHGs. Indonesian forest fires, which release billions of tons of GHGs, are also a significant contributor to global warming. In 2001, former president Abdurrahman Wahid signed into law a regulation on forest fire prevention. Unfortunately, this law lacks any authority, and is brazenly flouted at every opportunity.
In 2007, the IPCC published its fourth report, saying, "There is a greater than 90 percent certainty that human activities, led by burning fossil fuel, account for most of the global warming in the previous 50 years. Most of the observed increase in the globally averaged temperature since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentration".
The UNFCCC conference was held in Bali that same year. Realizing the importance of this conference, the Yudhoyono administration actively campaigned against global warming during 2007. They explored the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change, particularly through the Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) project. The Ministry of Forestry, in cooperation with the Indonesian Forest Climate Alliance (IFCA), even launched a REDD pilot project.
Recent studies in national climate change policy and environmental policy generally demonstrate the government's failure to address global warming. The government should continue developing the aims, incentives, strategic policies and measures to track progress of GHG reduction.
An effective policy response to climate change must combine mitigation -- actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- and adaptation -- actions to manage the impacts of climate change. The adaptation planning and policies must also recognize the link between the environment, the economy and society, and must integrate, accommodate and reconcile social, economic and environmental priorities. Effective adaptation will involve incorporating climate concerns into a broad range of planning and development activities across multiple sectors and institutions.
Indonesia must also take into account the impact of climate change on national development. Economic development goals and climate change policy goals must not be seen as opposite ends of a spectrum. They must be seen as paths toward the same goal. Economic development is necessary to alleviate poverty, improve access to energy, increase economic growth and aid our adaptation efforts.
Finally, the government has to integrate climate change policy into development plans for inclusive and sustainable development. In this context, we need to rethink spending money on subsidizing fossil fuels, a practice that may be inconsistent with GHG reductions.

The writer is a policy director at the Wildlife Conservation Society. He can be reached at h.alexander@wcsip.org

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