The statement was conveyed by main expert planner of the Ministry of National Development and Planning/National Development and Planning Agency (Bappenas), Arifin Rudiyanto, at the 3rd G20 Development Working Group (DWG) Side Event entitled "Towards Implementation and Beyond: Measuring the Progress of Low Carbon and Green Economy" in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Tuesday.
“The Green Economy Index is a tangible manifestation of Indonesia for measuring the effectiveness of a sustainable and low-carbon economic transformation with an accurate methodology. For this reason, a continuous increase in the index will certainly be carried out taking into account the latest developments," he said.
The government will make the Green Economy Index one of the macro development targets and include it in the mid-term and long-term national development planning documents, he added.
The Green Economy Index consists of 15 indicators covering the three pillars of sustainability—environmental, economic, and social.
According to the Green Economy Index report, efforts to transition to a green economy can provide various benefits for Indonesia, including average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.1–6.5 percent per year until 2050, 87–96 billion tons of savings in greenhouse gas emissions during 2021–2060, and up to 68 percent reduction in emissions intensity by 2045.
In addition, the Gross National Income (GNP) is expected to rise to the range of 25–34 percent, or equivalent to US$13,890–14,975 per capita by 2045.
In the environmental sector, 40 thousand lives could be saved by reducing air pollution by 2045, restoring ecosystem services worth US$4.75 trillion per year by 2060, protecting 3.2 million hectares of primary forest by 2060, and creating an additional forest cover of 4.1 million hectares by 2060.
Efforts to transition to a green economy could also help increase the area under mangrove forests to 3.6 million hectares by 2060 and boost the resilience of the economic climate, he said.
On another occasion, British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Owen Jenkins, had lauded Bappenas' steps to support low-carbon development policies.
“As the focal point of the G20 Development Working Group, Bappenas has demonstrated strong leadership in implementing low-carbon development policies into green economy recovery, an outstanding example, which is in line with the G20 2022 Presidential theme, 'Recover Together, Recover Stronger,’” Jenkins said.
The launch of the Green Economy Index was organized by the Ministry of National Development Planning along with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the United Nations Partnership for Action on Green Economy, WRI Indonesia, GIZ, and GGGI.
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Translator: Rolandus, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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