The request was conveyed by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, during his meeting with British Minister of State for Climate, Environment, and Energy, Richard Henry Ronald Benyon, in London on Tuesday.
"The Due Diligence Law must not create trade distortions or be discriminatory in terms of product coverage and national treatment," Hartarto said in a statement from his ministry on Wednesday.
He added that developing countries have the right to build a sustainable multilateral trade system. Therefore, the British government is expected to comply with the principles of transparency, non-discrimination, and consistency with multilateral trade rules and regulations.
In response, Benyon said that his government will take a partnership approach to implementing the due diligence rules by considering the standards and certifications already in force in partner countries.
Such standards include the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) system and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
The British government is also concerned about smallholders working in the oil palm plantation sector, he added.
Benyon emphasized that in enforcing the due diligence rules, the UK is different from the European Union and wants to build a supply chain of sustainable products with Indonesia that does not risk forest sustainability.
During the meeting, Hartarto also shared Indonesia's progress in controlling greenhouse gas emissions through measures such as the B40 program, mangrove plantation, and energy transition acceleration.
As a form of its strong commitment to tackling climate change, Indonesia has submitted the enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) document to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat.
This document lists the target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 31.89 percent, unconditionally or without international assistance.
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Translator: Bayu S, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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