Low Carbon News in Indonesia in December 2014
For E. Java Village, a Solution in Bioethanol
Self-Sufficient: Farmers from Sumbermanjing Wetan village in Malang find freedom from higher subsidized fuel prices
On 09:10 am Dec 09, 2014
Malang. Residents of Sumbermanjing Wetan village in Malang, East Java, seem unfazed by the recent price hike of subsidized fuel — unlike the rest of the country. Their secret lies in an unassuming shed of no more than 15 square meters in size, with walls made of woven bamboo.
For the last two years, people in the village have been experimenting in turning maize into ethanol. The scale of the production is small but substantial enough to make residents self-sufficient. “Of the 80 members of the Giri Makmur farmers’ cooperative, everyone has been using bioethanol for free,” says Didik Prasetyanto, a co-founder of the effort, as he points to two drums used to distill a batch of fermented maize. “We use maize to produce ethanol because there are more corn farmers [in the village] than sugarcane farmers,” Didik says. “In the beginning, we [experimented] using cassavas and sugarcane.”
“We dream of increasing our production and selling it to the public,” Didik says, adding that they need to first get their technique patented and find a way to reduce production costs.
Link:
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/for-e-java-village-a-solution-in-bioethanol/
Renewable energy development needs govt investment
The Jakarta Post | Business | Tue, December 09 2014, 10:34 AM
The new administration under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo needs to jump start the development of new and renewable energies by reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and subsidizing the renewable energies sector, an expert says. A significant percentage of subsidies should be channeled toward developing new and renewable energy programs, as the government has subsidized fuel for too long, energy economist Darmawan Prasodjo said on the sidelines of the Pertamina Energy Outlook for 2015 event in Jakarta last week.
Darmawan, who is also a member of the government’s oil and gas reform team, said that the government, not the state-owned oil firm PT Pertamina, should spearhead development and financing of the programs. “The subsidy mechanism should be similar to how Pertamina has been supported to provide subsidized fuel. The government should bear the burden of subsidy because the new and renewable energies programs will create [more benefits, including] huge clusters of industries, just like in other countries,” he said.
To encourage the use of renewable energy, Darmawan said the government should incentivize automobile companies to manufacture vehicles with fuel tanks that could use new types of biofuel, such as ethanol. The Brazilian government, he said, had imposed a tax on vehicles incompatible with biofuels. “The automotive industry responded positively to the policy, because it created a huge incentive for them,” Darmawan said.
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City to revitalize public transportation system
Dewanti A. Wardhani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Jakarta | Thu, December 11 2014, 10:15 AM
Jakarta administration plans to revitalize the city’s public transportation with help from the Australian governments overseas-assistance program AusAID’s Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII). Public Transportation Agency head of land transportation Emanuel Kristanto said that AusAID through Indii will help the city administration revitalize the current public transportation system by changing its current management system. AusAID, he said, would act as a consultant to the city administration.
Emanuel went on that the firms must sign a service contract with city-owned bus operator PT Transjakarta. “The city will subsidize the firms through PT Transjakarta. We will erase the current setoran system. Instead, the drivers will receive a monthly salary, which will be paid for by the city administration through PT Transjakarta,” he said, adding that passengers will be charged per kilometer. Emanuel said that the current setoran system urged the drivers to drive recklessly. Most drivers tend to “compete” with one another in order to get more passengers and as a result receive more money to take home. Many accidents happen in the city because public transportation drivers drive recklessly.
Link:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/11/city-revitalize-public-transportation-system.html
RI hosts regional climate workshop
The Jakarta Post | World | Fri, December 12 2014, 11:36 AM
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) hosted the first World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Science and Training Workshop in Southeast Asia. The workshop was held in Bogor from Nov. 17–20, 2014 and was attended by 80 participants from countries like Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, South Korea, India, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The workshop aimed to strengthen ties between Southeast Asian countries in sharing information based on a single solid platform of regional mapping. The workshop has also been utilized to gain a better understanding of how climate change will affect people. BMKG head Andi Eka Sakya said that through the workshop, it was expected that Indonesia would learn to collaborate and coordinate with partners outside the region in order to produce high resolution data. Among the attendees were experts in the field, like Fredolin Tangang of the Southeast Asia Climate Downscaling Experiment (SEACLID)/CORDEX, Ailikun of the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) and Untung Merdijanto of the BMKG.
Link:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/12/ri-hosts-regional-climate-workshop.html-0
Indonesia Lax When Illegal Loggers Clear Forests for Palm Plantations
The Jakarta Globe December 17, 2014
Rome. A drop in world palm oil prices is not expected to slow illegal logging in Indonesia’s rainforests as companies continue to expand plantations, according to a new report. Between 1990 and 2010, Indonesia’s palm oil plantations grew more than seven-fold to 7.8 million hectares, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said in the report released on Tuesday. About half the new plantations used land once occupied by natural forests, making the palm oil industry the leading driver of deforestation in recent years. Much of the land is cleared without the proper permits, and local authorities have failed to enforce laws protecting forests from clear-cutting for plantations, the report said. “The most depressing thing is the degree to which the government allows these crimes to go unpunished,” Jago Wadley, the EIA’s senior forest campaigner, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Many of the archipelago’s plantations are evading Indonesia’s Timber Legality Verification System, legislation enacted in 2010 to stop the flow of illegal timber, the report said. Indonesia’s government aims eventually to expand palm oil production to cover 20 million hectares, so the problem of illegal logging to clear land could intensify.
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Indonesian Environmentalists Pan New UN Climate Change Deal
The Jakarta Globe December 16, 2014
Jakarta. Indonesian environmentalists expressed concerns that “disappointing” outcomes of the United Nations’ climate change meeting that concluded in Peru over the weekend will dampen Indonesia’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
In Indonesia, one of the main contributors of global greenhouse gas emissions through deforestation, environmentalists worry the Lima outcome would demotivate the government in tackling climate change. The new administration of President Joko Widodo is already seen as being less ambitious than his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in climate and environmental commitments. “The prospect for [intensified measures] to reduce carbon emissions is getting smaller,” said Zenzi Suhadi, a forest campaigner with the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, or Walhi. Zenzi expressed his disappointment especially with the refusal of wealthier nations to take responsibility, saying it will only burden island nations of the South, including Indonesia, who would be hit hardest by rising sea levels and extreme weather triggered by global warming.
Rizaldi Boer of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) criticized developed nations for focusing on mitigation efforts in climate negotiations, while giving less attention to adaptive measures. “Adaptation has been sidelined, when there should be a balance between mitigation and adaptation,” Rizaldi said. But despite the “disappointing” Lima conclusion, Indonesia must make the most of some of the meeting’s outcomes, such as the $10.2 billion pledged for the Green Climate Fund. The government should apply for a portion of the funds to support the development of renewable energy and other green technologies to reduce carbon emissions, he said. “How should Indonesia benefit from opportunities offered in the international [forum]? We can do it as long as we’re committed [to environmental causes and reducing emissions],” Rizaldi added.
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