Indonesia Hints at 40% Emissions Reductions by 2030 - If International Support is Forthcoming

Deforestation accounts for four-fifths of Indonesia's carbon emissions. Photo: Ben Sutherland via flickr

Now we're talking! The Financial Times has one of the most encouraging bits of climate change news I've heard in a while. Indonesia, whose rapid clearing of rainforests accounts for about one-quarter of all carbon emissions from deforestation globally, has said that it will pledge to cut its emissions by 40% from 2005 levels by 2030, if it receives international support:Currently deforestation is the source of 80% of Indonesia's carbon emissions, and when these emissions are included in the nation's total (they aren't always, on some charts of highest emitting nations) it is in the top ten emitters -- right up there with the US, China, and other industrial nations.

If no action is taken, Indonesia's emissions are expected to increase by about 156% by 2030. However, slowing deforestation in the nation could reduce emissions to 1.3 gigatons in the same time period, down from the 2005 benchmark of 2.3 gigatons.

Biodiversity Could Also BenefitConsidering the role of deforestation here, it's not just carbon emissions which would improve if this pledge comes to pass, pressure on a number of endangered species -- most notably the orangutan -- could potentially be reduced as well.

via: Financial TimesIndonesia, DeforestationSoutheast Asia Paying High Environmental Cost for Palm OilRainforest Preservation Can Be More Profitable Than Palm Oil PlantationsPay No Attention to the Whining Indonesian Palm Oil Industry