Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar underlined Indonesia's strong commitment to handling climate change by strengthening the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) during a meeting with a United States Congressional delegation.

The delegation visited Jakarta on April 11, 2023.

"Our NDC target increase is based on the latest national policy progress related to climate change, including Forestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink 2030, accelerating the use of electric vehicles, B40 policies, increasing action in the waste management sector, and increasing targets for the industrial and agricultural sectors," she said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Thursday.

The NDC is a document outlining a climate action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

In September 2022, Indonesia submitted an enhanced NDC, in which it increased the target for emission reductions through its own efforts from 29 percent to 31.89 percent and with international support from 41 percent to 43.20 percent, the minister disclosed.

Bakar explained that Indonesia's emission reduction target under the enhanced NDC is targeting forestry and other land uses (FOLU) and agriculture for land-related sectors and energy, waste, and industry for non-land-related sectors.

Indonesia expects the FOLU sector to contribute nearly 60 percent to the total national emission reduction target, she added.

She further explained that the rehabilitation of critical land, including peatlands, and mangrove restoration are Indonesia's priority for controlling carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, in the energy sector, Indonesia is encouraging the development of the use of renewable energy, such as geothermal, hydro, and solar panels as alternative energy sources, she informed.

The Indonesian government is also promoting electric vehicles and waste-to-energy as an effort to manage waste more efficiently, Bakar added.

Meanwhile, Head of the United States Congressional delegation, Jeff Merkley, said that his party wanted to learn from the initiatives carried out by the Indonesian Government for handling environmental problems, such as pollution and plastic waste management.

The United States Congressional delegation is seeking to build a strong cooperative relationship with the Indonesian government, especially the Environment and Forestry Ministry, he added.

The US Congress also supports Indonesia's action in collaborating with Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the three countries with the largest tropical forests in the world, to realize sustainable forest management and support climate change control.

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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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