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Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

COP27: World Bank Funds Indonesia's Emissions Reduction Program and Other Notable Events in Week One

 

As the first week of the COP27 approaches to an end, a few notable events took place this week, including more funding for Indonesia to help the country reduce its emissions from the forestry sector.

The Indonesian government has received US$ 20.9 million or around Rp 320 billion from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) program for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). The FCPF program is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, conserving forest carbon stocks, managing forests sustainably, and enhancing forest carbon stocks in developing countries.

This payment is a part of a total funding of US$ 110 million or Rp 1.6 trillion, based on performance in reducing emissions in the forestry sector. The full funding will be released once the independent third-party verification of the reported emissions reductions, currently underway, is complete.

In its official statement, the World Bank said Indonesia is the first country in East Asia Pacific to receive such payments under the FCPF scheme. Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar said this proves the Indonesian government's seriousness in implementing emissions reduction programs.

"Don't look at the value of the money, but this is a form of recognition for Indonesia," she said while attending a side event at the Indonesia Pavilion at the COP27 venue in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Siti emphasized that this program is an opportunity for the government, civil society organizations, businesses, and communities to protect forests.

She hopes that emission reduction efforts in the forestry sector will help pursue emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement.

Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, said, "We applaud Indonesia's sustained reductions in deforestation rates over the past five years, and we hope to continue supporting the transition towards a green economy." Read more.

Other notable events

Indonesian Vice President Ma’aruf Amin reiterated steps taken to achieve its emission targets

Amin opened his speech by saying that no significant global progress has been made since Glasgow and therefore underlined that COP27 must not only advance ambition, but also implementation, including the fulfillment of support from developed countries to developing countries.

"We must all be part of the solution. All countries must contribute according to their respective capacities, with the spirit of burden-sharing, not burden-shifting. Countries that are more capable must help and empower other countries," Amin said.

The Vice President also shared concrete steps Indonesia has taken to reduce its emissions, including investment in energy transition, funding for climate action, and increasing emission reduction targets.

Collecting the promise of US$100 billion climate funding

The COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009 agreed to provide funding of up to US$100 billion for climate change. However, the pledge to channel climate funds to less wealthy countries by 2020 fell well short within that target. In their national statement, heads of state underlined this failure and demanded leaders of developed economies to step up.

UN calls on corporations to avoid greenwashing

A UN report said there are still many companies that carry out greenwashing, manipulation or unsubstantiated claims about corporate green commitments. At COP27, the UN will set new standards for companies that will claim net zero emissions.

Experts of the report – titled “Integrity matters: Net Zero Commitments by Business, Financial Institutions, Cities and Regions – warned that greenwashing and net zero pledges can sabotage the efforts to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement, and recommended a crackdown on them.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The G20 — together with all OECD countries — must accelerate the decarbonization of their economies and end their addiction and subsidies to fossil fuels. This means they must rapidly regulate, design policies, pass legislation and approve budgets to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.”

Indonesia currently holds the G20 presidency, and the annual summit will take place in Bali, Indonesia from 15-16 November.

COP27 participants complain about summit organization

A number of COP27 participants, especially observers and journalists, expressed many shortcomings in the organization of the event, notably about the scarcity of food. Participants were left queuing for up to one hour to get lunch in the form of sandwiches priced at US$11.

A journalist from Pakistan, Zoha Tunio, said there aren't many options available and the price is two to three times the normal price outside the venue. Like others, Tunio spent about one hour on the first day to get her sandwich and coffee. For a journalist who has to be in places between attending events, press conferences, and chasing her interviewee, that’s precious time wasted.

“The organisation has to be improved,” Tunio said. Read more.


This story was produced as part of the 2022 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. It was first published in Bahasa Indonesia by Katadata.co.id on 8 November 2022 and has been translated to English and lightly edited for length and clarity.

Banner image: Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar / Credit: KLHK.