(Credit: Asia Pulp & Paper)The race to limit global warming to 1.5°C is a marathon. At times, it can feel like each step is little different from the last and the pace of progress is barely noticeable. Yet for many developing nations, the last two weeks at COP27 might have felt like a strong breeze at their backs.
Our shared climate is a collective responsibility, but it is also inextricably bound to our past, present and future. The agreement to establish a global fund for loss and damage from climate change has been hailed as a “historic” step forward in climate justice. For developing nations most vulnerable to climate disasters, this agreement must inspire at least some cautious optimism. At least until the fine details of implementation are decided upon.
Indonesia is no stranger to the challenges of a changing climate. The Indonesian Archipelago spans many thousands of islands, and as many as 115 small islands are already at imminent risk of being inundated amid rising sea levels. Even the largest of islands are expected to lose landmass to the creeping tide in a matter of decades, including the populated northern coast of Java.
A warmer and drier climate also exacerbates the forest fires that are endemic to Indonesia. While these fires are almost always started by human action – agricultural fires or rubbish fires – climate conditions like El Nino can quickly transform these into raging wildfires, presenting immediate risks to forests, crops and communities.
The severity of these potential impacts means Indonesia, and Indonesian businesses like Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), must act with urgency.
At a panel discussion titled Achieving Net Zero Emissions: A High Call for Urgency from a Business Perspective, Agus Justianto, the Director General of Sustainable Forest Management at Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), explained Indonesia's ambitious commitment to reducing carbon emissions, strengthening its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target from 29% to 31.89% by 2030 with its own efforts, or from 41% to 43.20% with international support.
To meet these targets, Indonesian businesses must act in partnership with Government and invest in circular business models that encourage regenerative efforts and improve environmental protections.
Since 2013, APP has invested in the protection and conservation of natural forests, and the deployment of more efficient technologies and processes at its nurseries, plantations and mills. As a result of these efforts, we now generate more than half of our energy requirement from renewable alternatives and have cut waste-to-landfill by more than a third.
Indonesia’s vast store of forests and peatlands are another important element of the net zero goal, highlighted at a panel discussion titled Business Actors Support for Indonesia FOLU NET SINK 2030. The KLHK’s Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030 plan, published on the heels of COP26, sets out a detailed course of action to protect, conserve and rehabilitate these critical landscapes, which represent a significant store of carbon.
APP was the first industrial forest businesses in Indonesia to retire productive plantations on critical peat since 2015. Since then, more than 35,000 ha of critical peat have been retired. A further 15,000 ha will be retired in the coming years. By restoring these landscapes and maintaining active monitoring of water levels, more than 50m tonnes of carbon can be sequestered.
Even though APP ended the practice of deforestation across its entire supply chain in 2013, forest clearance and uncontrolled fires continue to impact rural Indonesia, driven by smallholders and gangs of illegal loggers.
One of the other ways responsible businesses can support the FOLU Net Sink 2030 plan is through community engagement. APP’s Desa Makmur Peduli Api (DMPA) program provides tools and resources to forest communities in order to encourage sustainable transformation, away dependence on logging and land clearance by agricultural fire.
Preliminary research shows that DMPA programs alone have reduced fires by more than 70 percent. By providing farmers with training and market access for alternative livelihoods have also brought economic empowerment.
In one program, the introduction of honey farming as an alternative livelihood has enabled that community to produce nearly seven tonnes of honey per month, representing a substantial increase in income, while reducing the risks of both deforestation and fire.
Ultimately, climate action is a shared responsibility. Individuals, businesses and states all must contribute to the solution, and those with greater means have a duty to lend aid to the more vulnerable. It is only when we act in concert will we be able to finish this race, together.
By Elim Sritaba, CSO, Asia Pulp & Paper
