Indonesia launches agency to manage environment funds
CGTN
Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attends the World Economic Forum on ASEAN at the Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati attends the World Economic Forum on ASEAN at the Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam September 12, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Indonesia launched an agency to manage funds for climate change management on Wednesday as part of its efforts to meet its climate goals.

“The objective is to have one pool for funds needed for environment recovery,” Ruandha Agung Sugardiman, director general of climate change at the Environment Ministry, told reporters.

The new agency is expected to start operation on January 1, 2020, and will have an initial fund of around 2 trillion rupiah (141 million U.S. dollars).

The funds will come from land reclamation payments and fines the government collects from environment criminal cases, as well as from donors.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters the agency could potentially raise up to 800 trillion rupiah (56 billion U.S. dollars) in environmental funds.

“With the establishment of this agency, we hope that donor countries and institutions will be more confident in committing to provide environmental funds,”she said.

The government aims to prepare regulation that will allow the country to launch a carbon trading program that the agency could manage, Sugardiman said, although it does not have a timeline yet.

Funds from the agency will be distributed as grants or investment to restore environmental damage and educate communities to prevent further damage.

Indonesia aims to cut carbon emission by 29 percent by 2030 by its own efforts and 41 percent with international assistance.

In 2017, the government said the country needs 64 billion U.S. dollars between 2016 and 2020 for climate adaptation and an additional 17 billion U.S. dollars for climate change mitigation efforts.

Source(s): Reuters