Carbon Credit Potential may Raise Bargaining Power:Peter F Gontha

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's large carbon credit potentials because of its abundant natural resources including forests and mangroves can increase its bargaining power in its trade with other countries, a former Indonesian envoy has said.

The Southeast Asian country is the center of natural resources that may absorb carbon emissions from various countries and that has large and promising potential in the carbon market, Peter F Gontha, co-founder of Foreign Community Policy of Indonesia, said at a discussion themed “Indonesia’s Economic and Political Outlook 2020” held by FPCI in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Jakarta Friday.

Indonesia's natural resources which produce 90 percent of verified carbon units can increase its bargaining power when it comes to trade with other countries, including the European Union which discriminates against Indonesian palm oil, he believed.

"For example, Europe needs our carbon. We must not sell carbon to them if they still discriminate against our palm oil," he said.

Indonesia needs to manage its forests, mangroves and peatlands properly, said Gontha, a one-time Indonesian ambassador to Poland.

Given the abundant natural resources, Indonesia must more aggressively highlight environmental issues at the international level, more so because the carbon issue has been agreed upon in the Paris Agreement, he said.

As earlier reported, Indonesia began eying potential carbon emissions known as carbon credit with other countries.

Indonesia holds 75 to 80 percent of the world's carbon credit from its forests, mangroves, peatlands, seaweed and coral reefs. The trade potentials that Indonesia can achieve are projected to reach US$82 to $100 billion per year, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Tuesday, December 10.

The Environment and Forest Ministry is in the middle of drawing up a format to enable the country to sell the potential that may add to its foreign exchange coffers, he said.

ANTARA