GOVT LAUNCHES CLIMATE CHANGE HANDLING REPORT

Jakarta, Nov 23 (ANTARA) - The government launched on Monday a report on the status of greenhouse gas emissions and national policies on climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

"As a country ratifying the climate change convention, Indonesia is obliged to report the status of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)," Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said at the launch of the report dubbed "National Communication (NATCOM) II".

The report signed by Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Forestry Minister Zulikifli Hasan, Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Armida Alisjahbana and representatives of relevant ministries is a follow-up to a similar document signed in 1999.

The document was drawn up based on a series of consultations with various parties, including government agencies, institutes of higher learning, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, Gusti said.

The government institutes responsible for handling climate change include the Environment Ministry, the Forestry Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Transportation Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry and Bappenas.

"Each of the agencies/institutes will then perform their duties according to their respective authority and allocate funds for the purpose," he said.

According to the National Communication II document, in 2000 national greenhouse gas emissions from three main greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) without emissions from a change in land use (land use, land use change and forestry/LULUCF) stood at 594.738 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).

With the LULUCF, the total greenhouse gas emissions nationwide rose significantly to 1,415 gigatons of CO2e.

The report noted that a change in land use and forested land as well as the energy sector contributed a lot to the total greenhouse gas emissions.

The total emissions are well below those reported by PT Pelangi Energi Abadi Citra Enviro (PEACE), the World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID) stating that Indonesia is the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter with total emissions of 3,014 gigatons of CO2e.

"The report is not valid. Our emissions are not as large as that," he said.

"Neither is their data base strong. How could they arrive at the calculation. What basis they have used to declare us a country with the largest emissions while in fact all countries have yet to issue their emission data," said former environment minister Rachmat Witoelar, who is now chief of the National Climate Change Council (DNPI). ***3***