TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo highlighted the country's commitment to maintaining environmental sustainability when delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Hannover Messe 2023 at the Hannover Congress Centrum, Germany, on Sunday, April 16.

This issue was brought up as the European Union passed the anti-deforestation law, which was later rejected by some Indonesian oil palm farmers.

Jokowi claimed that this commitment is evident from the number of actions taken to restore the environment. He mentioned that the deforestation rate dropped significantly and was at its lowest in the last 20 years.

“Forest fires have decreased by 88 percent, rehabilitation of 600,000 hectares of mangrove forests will be completed in 2024 which is the largest in the world, and 30,000 hectares of green industrial areas will be built,” Jokowi said.

In addition, Indonesia is targeting 23 percent of the energy sources to come from new and renewable energy (EBT) by 2025. Then, Indonesia also planned to close all coal-fired power plants in 2050.

“Indonesia wants to ensure that the energy transition produces affordable energy for our people,” he asserted.

Last December, the European Union passed the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a new law to prevent companies from selling coffee, palm oil, soybeans, and other commodities that contribute to the destruction and degradation of forests. Indonesia is among the countries affected by the policy along with Brazil and Colombia.

The law obliges all companies to present due diligence statements proving that their products brought to the EU markets not contributing to forest destruction or they could face hefty fines.

Deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change and will be the focus at this week's United Nations Biodiversity Conference or UN COP15, where countries will seek a global agreement to protect nature.

Dozens of palm oil farmers have protested against the EUDR in front of the European Union Embassy in Jakarta. They said the policy impacted the price of palm oil at the farmer level.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO

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