The bilateral meeting was held between Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry's Climate Change Control Director General Ruandha Agung Sugardiman and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ambassador for the Environment Patrick Suckling at the end of the first-week negotiations at the Bonn Climate Change Conference (BCCC) in Bonn, Germany.
In his statement, Thursday, Sugardiman noted that both parties had agreed to improve and expand cooperation in the field of environment and climate change by issuing a memorandum of understanding on peatland, blue carbon, and marine issues.
At the meeting with the Australian ambassador, Sugardiman also addressed the issue of funding of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The funding must be balanced between mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Funding for mitigation is, so far, more dominant than funding for climate change adaptation. In fact, Sugardiman emphasized the importance of future adaptation to climate change to boost the community's resilience to climate change that has become increasingly evident.
Issues also discussed at the bilateral meeting covered the views of Australia and Indonesia regarding difficulties in negotiations on article 6 of the Paris Agreement to ensure that the climate agreement is implemented properly.
Suckling opined that if negotiations pertaining to article 6 and decisions were not resolved before 2020, it would undoubtedly pose a problem for members at the Santiago Climate Change Conference. This can lead to the free market determining its own path, which will later be another crucial and unpredictable issue.
Suckling also drew attention to the imbalance between primary and additional funding wherein the growth of additional funds was much swifter than the main fund.
He noted that it will lead to increasingly difficult financial mechanisms at the UNFCCC. Donor nations expect the main fund to strengthen. Related news: Indonesia 2045 Vision to facilitate implementation of Paris Accord
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Translator: Yashinta Difa Pramudyani
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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