Forestry Minister Pushes for Carbon Trading Implementation

Jakarta, MINA – Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni is accelerating the inclusion of the forestry sector in Indonesia’s carbon trading market. The initiative aims to support efforts in forest rehabilitation and combating deforestation across the country.

“We will also open the voluntary carbon market as soon as possible, especially by revising the ongoing Presidential Regulation 98. This will allow private parties to invest,” said Minister Antoni after attending the Kick-Off Meeting for the Concept Note and New Funding Proposal for the Second Phase of RBP REDD+ CGF in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The revision of Presidential Regulation Number 98 of 2021, which addresses the Implementation of Carbon Economic Value for Achieving Nationally Determined Contribution Targets and Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions in National Development, is expected to bolster forest and land restoration as well as the prevention of forest fires and land degradation.

Minister Antoni highlighted that approximately 6.5 million hectares of degraded land in Indonesia require rehabilitation. By revising Presidential Regulation 98 of 2021, he hopes that funding from the forestry sector’s carbon trading will support these rehabilitation efforts.

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“By opening this voluntary carbon market, we hope there will be investment to plant in these barren areas. The consequence, of course, is that the private sector will receive incentives for their efforts. But I believe this will also be good for state revenue through taxes and other mechanisms that we will discuss together,” he explained.

Previously, Minister Antoni had targeted the launch of the forestry carbon trading market for July of this year. However, it was delayed pending the revision of Presidential Regulation 98 of 2021.

In a statement last March, the Minister explained that in its initial phase, carbon trading would involve schemes for private forest management holders (PBPH) and social forestry, each with different carbon absorption potentials.

PBPH has an absorption potential of 20-58 tons of CO2 per hectare with a price of $5-$10 per ton of CO2, while social forestry can absorb up to 100 tons of CO2 per hectare, with prices reaching €30 per ton of CO2.

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By 2025, the potential for carbon trading in the forestry sector is estimated to reach 26.5 million tons of CO2, with transaction values ranging from 1.6 trillion to 3.2 trillion Indonesian Rupiah per year. [Shibgho]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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