Norway extends forest cooperation with Indonesia

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Indonesian Minister of Forestry, Raja Juli Antoni, and Norwegian Minister of Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, in Indonesia earlier this week.

Norway has paid a total of 216 million USD for Indonesia’s documented emission reductions from the forestry sector in the last year. The payments were made only after the results had been verified by independent third parties.

The Norwegian government, in a statement issued on the 19th of February, said:

“...the Norwegian contributions will support Indonesia in developing good a monitoring system, to restore degraded forest and peatland areas, combat environmental crime, preserve, and restore mangrove forests, strengthen law enforcement and firefighting capacity, and recognize local communities' rights to manage forests.”

Indonesia’s Climate Actions towards 2030

Indonesia has set an ambitious target of absorbing 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 through its FOLU Net Sink 2030 policy. This target is a crucial component of the national strategy to reduce emissions and achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2060 or sooner.

Meanwhile, the energy sector is projected to reach its peak emissions in the same year, highlighting the urgency of a concrete and sustainable energy transition.

"The Indonesian government must take more decisive action to maintain and strengthen the FOLU target. This includes ensuring that forest and land protection policies are effectively implemented and not undermined by conflicting regulations", says Nadia Hadad, Executive Director of Madani Berkelanjutan

"Additionally, as Indonesia prepares to submit its second Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement, it is crucial to enhance emissions reduction efforts in other sectors, particularly energy, to prevent FOLU Net Sink 2030 from shouldering the burden of the country’s climate commitments alone”, Hadad adds.

Rainforest Foundation Norway has worked with strategic partners on the ground in Indonesia for decades, encouraging donors, civil society, and companies to support the climate commitment in achieving net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.