News Flash

Indonesia wants legally binding accord at Cancun summit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-02 22:05

JAKARTA - Indonesia wants to see a legal binding solution at the ongoing world environment summit held in Cancun, Mexico, replacing the Kyoto Protocol accord that will expire in 2012, a member of Indonesian delegation has said.

"When we come to legal binding solution, we would be entering the phase when we are literally conducting the efforts to tackle the impacts of climate change," Arief Yuwono, the third deputy of Indonesian environment affairs minister for environment damage and climate change issue told Xinhua in an exclusive interview Thursday.    

Arief is a member of Indonesian delegation set to depart for Cancun, Mexico, later this week, along with the minister.

Arief who also attended previous environmental summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, said that the highly-expected legally binding accord in Cancun summit is expected to replace the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol that is to expire on December 31, 2012.

Kyoto protocol binds almost 40 developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Some developed nations that apparently were world's top emitters are not bound to Kyoto Protocol. On the other hand some developing nations have no protocol's targets.

Arief added that Cancun summit is also highly expected to discuss further the solution packages that Indonesia has been supporting at.

Those solutions are Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) initiative and Bali Road Map that highlighting mitigation, transfer of technology and funding efforts as innovative ways in dealing with global climate change.

"The Cancun Environment Summit would be important for Indonesia regarding the bold emission reduction target set by Indonesian government at 26 percent by 2020," Arief said.

He said that Indonesian delegation has arranged bilateral meeting schedules with senior officials from other countries attending the summit. Among the schedules are the meeting with officials from Sweden, South Korea and Switzerland.

"The meeting is aimed setting up bilateral cooperation in climate change section that would eventually support the efforts to accomplish the government targets," Arief added.

In G20 Summit held in the United States last year, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had pledged Indonesia's target to reduce emission by 26 percent with its own fund and 41 percent with foreign funding by 2020.    

Arief said that Indonesia has drafted sectors that would be highly contributing to the government's emission reduction target, among others from forestry, waste, transportation and energy.

The minister deputy said that Indonesian scholars have been conducting researches and efforts to address the government's emission reduction targets. Those efforts were suited with the country's geographical condition that has more water territory than the land one.