Under its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Indonesia is required to submit its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which detail the country’s plan to reduce emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. In 2016, Indonesia outlined its first NDCs, which laid down very ambitious goals, with a voluntarily pledge to reduce emissions by 29 percent independently, or an emissions cut of up to 41 percent with international assistance. Only some of the larger cities and regencies have enacted climate change regulations, such as Bandung in West Java, Jakarta, and Surabaya in East Java.
Climate provisions are enshrined in various laws such as regulations for the protection and empowerment of farmers, environmental management and protection, as well as through regulations on disaster management. Compounding these factors, Indonesia’s forest fires have hit hard again in 2019. Based on data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry, there were 1,700 fire hot spots this year as of August, higher by 39 hot spots compared to last year.
Instead of removing the forest cover, one possibility would be to build the capital in and around the forest as a truly green capital.
Yet these forests are disappearing, due to rapid forest conversion for industrial farmland, with over 6 million hectares converted from 2000 to 2017, according to the Center for International Forestry Research. Deterioration of Kalimantan’s forest areas at this rate precedes any additional pressures generated by the increased urban demands of a new capital city in the region.
Whether the capital will be moved to Kalimantan or not, Indonesia needs better climate-supportive policies to drive NDC implementation. Indonesia needs to pay close attention to land use and its unintended effects (including forest fires) and the energy sector to achieve its NDC targets. Moving the capital to Kalimantan should reflect a determination to foster NDC achievement, rather than a hindrance.
Indonesia needs to pay close attention to land use and its unintended effects (including forest fires) and the energy sector to achieve its NDC targets. Moving the capital to Kalimantan should reflect a determination to foster NDC achievement, rather than a hindrance.
