China sets an example in combating climate change

The world will have to endure a very long struggle in achieving zero-net emissions and China could become an example of how to proceed in that journey, an environment forum heard on Aug 24.

"We need milestones in our very long and complex struggle" against climate change, Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in her speech at the Indonesia Net-Zero Summit in Jakarta.

About 3,000 people attended the day-long forum, including senior government officials, foreign diplomats, academics, business people, NGO activists and university students. The majority of the participants were young people from Jakarta and other provinces.

The forum focused on opportunities and challenges faced by Indonesia and the global community in achieving the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming target to be met around mid-century as stipulated in the Paris Agreement. The legally binding treaty was signed by Indonesia, China and 194 other countries and world organizations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in Dec 2015 and entered into force in November 2016.

The most critical issue discussed in the Indonesia-Zero Summit was whether economic growth can go hand in hand with emission reduction.

Li Zhenmin, a special envoy for climate change of the People's Republic of China, was a keynote speaker along with Indrawati; Tomas Anker Christensen, Climate Ambassador of Denmark; Dominic Jermey, British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste; and Pahala Nugraha Mansury, Indonesia's vice foreign minister.

In addition, 55 other panelists also presented their views in different sessions and rooms at the Jakarta Theater Building.

Speaking in the early session that saw her receiving the "Climate Hero Award" from the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), which held the dialog forum, Indrawati said that compromising the ongoing trade-off between welfare enhancement and environmental sustainability was a challenge to the global community, which not only required people's resolution but also a shift in their mindset and lifestyle.

Minister Indrawati said there needs to be formulas adequate for compromising the tradeoff and she called on young people in the audience to get involved in developing new technologies for solving carbon emissions.

She said that the war against climate change requires proper technologies in the fields of renewable energy, transportation, forestry, agriculture, and waste management.

Indrawati specially mentioned the urgency of establishing a strong foundation for carbon market trading and the creation of inter-state rules and regulations for such a market.

Indonesia officially opened carbon trading in Sept 2023 after the establishment in the previous year of the Indonesian Carbon Exchange (IDX Carbon) in the previous year.

The minister, who initiated serious budgeting for environmental preservation, encouraged young people to solve ecological problems.

Li Zhenmin noted that the current air pollution in Jakarta is about the same as seven years ago, the last time he came to the capital city. In July of this year, the Indonesian capital, with a population of about 12 million people, ranked fifth as the most polluted city in the world.

"How do you improve it? I think it's good for the Indonesian government, for the municipality government, to use this opportunity of electric transition," Li said.

Li suggested that the Indonesian government encourage people to use more electric cars. China saw its air quality improve after more and more people use EVs, following the implementation of the country's new emission vehicle mandate, the Chinese official said.

"So please combine controlling the pollution and reducing the emission together in the cities," the Chinese official said.

China is committed to pushing forward to achieve its carbon emission reduction goals by actively developing a circular economy, Li said. In China, circular economic development contributes more than 25 percent of total carbon emission reduction.

"China also vigorously leverages market mechanisms to regulate carbon emission trade. We have established carbon markets covering the largest greenhouse gas emissions in the world," Li said.

China is also actively developing renewable energy through continuous innovation. At the end of 2023, the stored capacity of renewable energy in China reached nearly 52 percent, surpassing fossil fuel energy capacity for the first time. Since the beginning of this year, renewable energy in China has continued to maintain strong growth momentum, accounting for 92 percent of the newly stored power capacity in this year's first quarter.

"China's new energy products such as new energy vehicles, diesel batteries, and photovoltaic products have made important contributions to the world," Li said.

China's efforts notably over the past decade have enabled the country to reduce the proportion of its coal consumption to a staggering 56 percent, Li said.

Li said climate change is a global issue that requires concerted cooperation among countries around the world as "energy transition is a process that cannot be accomplished overnight."

Christensen explained Denmark's aim of becoming a leading nation in international climate efforts, saying that his country has both a historical and a moral responsibility to take the lead.

Denmark, by passing the 2020 Climate Act into law, has a long-term target for becoming a climate neutrality society by 2050.

Dino Patti Djalal, founder and chairman of FPCI's board of trustees, said cooperation for fighting global climate change remained unstable due to an unstable geopolitical situation.

"The majority of world economies have not yet fully gone online with the zero-net target … Public opinion remains indifferent," Djalal said.

Esther N.S. Tamara, director of the climate unit of FPCI, said funds for emission reduction work should be jointly made available by the government and private sector parties, but the question is whether Indonesia is serious enough to turn away from dirty energy.

"It should no longer be business as usual," she said.

Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform, said Indonesia needs to learn from China in reducing carbon emissions.

But, he said China's environmental policies might not be that easily emulated by Indonesia.

"We are talking about political leadership, fiscal capacity, and industrial capability," Tumiwa told this correspondent in an interview.

Widely known for his views on the car industry, Tumiwa said Indonesia could learn much from China's efforts to develop its electric car industry.

One thing Indonesia needs to emulate from China is the latter's outstanding R&D in building the ecosystem of its EV industry, Tumiwa said. Indonesia needs large-scale EV ecosystem that comprises EV battery technology, EV manufacturing and EV charging stations, Tumiwa said.

Indonesia holds 24 percent, or the highest percentage of the world's nickel reserves globally, and nickel is used for making EV batteries.

Currently, EVs in Indonesia account for about 7 percent of the country's total number of cars, which is higher than last year's 4 percent, Tumiwa said. They include Chinese-made EVs.

He said the percentage could rise to 10 percent in 2025. The government has set a target to see two million EVs plying roads in Indonesia by 2030.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.