TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A social movement concerned with climate issues, Extinction Rebellion Indonesia, and petition website Change.org on Wednesday called for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to immediately declare a climate emergency, which is an official request that was delivered to the Presidential Staff Office at the Merdeka Palace.

“With the President declaring a climate crisis, only then will there be inter-ministerial and agency synergy to the handling of the issue,” Extinction Rebellion (XR) Indonesia representative Novita Indri stated in a written statement on August 10.

According to Novita, the natural disasters that continue to happen in the country can be attributed to the climate crisis. She said that it is supported by the statement issued by the national commission on human rights (Komnas HAM) which asserted that disasters driven by the climate crisis are a threat to the human rights.

“Even President Jokowi has said it on numerous occasions regarding the link between climate crisis and disasters,” Novita explained.

Meanwhile, the representative of the petition initiator at Change.org, Wahyu Aji, said their request to the government is backed by evidence of climate emergency. A government representative who received the request said that it would be handed to the Presidential Staff Chief Moeldoko and to the President himself.

The online petition regarding this matter on Change.org has garnered 28,000 signatures, urging President Jokowi to take serious steps in mitigating disasters driven by the climate crisis.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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