EarthAction

Getting Indonesia to Net Zero

As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Indonesia has committed to using its sustainable transition to drive green and inclusive growth. Recent steps by President Joko Widodo in the lead-up to Indonesia hosting the G20 summit in November 2022 underscore the country’s ambition to reduce its emissions – including releasing a plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 or sooner, endorsing the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement at COP26, and enhancing Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution ahead of COP27.
 
This new Asia Society Policy Institute report, Getting Indonesia to Net Zerofrom the High-level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero explores how Indonesia can further accelerate its transition to a resilient, net zero emissions economy while benefitting its people and its place in the world. The report is based on new modeling commissioned from Cambridge Econometrics that illustrates how implementing Indonesia’s current net zero strategies could:

• Boost Indonesia’s mid-term GDP by as much as 5% by 2032;
• Create up to two million new jobs by 2039; and
• Improve Indonesia’s trade balance by $48 billion.

Moreover, by aiming for net zero emissions by 2050 instead of 2060 while prioritizing solar and wind energy, Indonesia could reduce its net zero investment needs by $3.8 trillion and peak its carbon emissions as early as 2027. The report also provides a roadmap for how Indonesia could realize these and other benefits by prioritizing climate policies that concurrently address development challenges, reforming the energy market structure to favor solar and wind, and leveraging green industries to advance a just transition

READ THE REPORT

Anti-dam groups troop to NCIP over FPIC inconsistencies, conduct dam exposure tour

Filing of petition and complaints at the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Cordillera (NCIP-CAR)

Dam-threatened Kalinga tribes along with advocates trooped to the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples- Cordillera (NCIP-CAR) to petition the dams proposed along the Saltan river in Kalinga.
 

Indigenous peoples from the municipalities of Pinukpuk, Balbalan and Tabuk in Kalinga mark this year's International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers (IDAAD) with a petition filed against JBD Water Power Incorporated's (JWPI) hydroelectric power projects at the NCIP regional office in Baguio City today, March 14, 2023. Said petition seeks the nullification of the result of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) among the Limos tribe last February 9, 2023, whatever the results may be, on basis of inconsistencies in the process.

 

 

According to Elma Tuazon, representative from the Limos tribe and lead convenor of the Sumkad ti Umili para ti Matagoan, Karbengan, Aglawlaw, Daga ken Dayaw (SUMKADD), the petition submitted is nullifying "the decision-making process/meeting for the Limos Ancestral Domain activity on February 9, 2023 related to the Saltan Hydroelectric Power Project", proposed by the JWPI along the Saltan River in Kalinga. "We have sinced petitioned against these dam projects along the Saltan River since 2022, we are reiterating our opposition to these proposed dam projects."
 

Resolutions against the JWPI dams were adopted by several barangays in Balbalan and the municipality of Pinukpuk as early as February of 2022.
 

A dialogue with NCIP CAR Regional Director Atty. Atanacio Addog was also conducted, where the demands for NCIP's accountability and strict monitoring of the FPIC process were floated. Continuing talks between the petitioners and NCIP will soon determine the outcomes, but petitioners remain wary of NCIP's expected actions considering that Addog is one of the accused in the administrative charges including 158 counts of estafa, falsification, and use of falsified documents filed by the dam-threatened Isnag indigenous peoples of Kabugao on December 2022 and January 2023.

 

 

Dialogue with NCIP Regional Director Atanacio Addog at the NCIP Regional Office in Baguio City.

 

Dams Learning Exchange
 

Prior to the petition filing, the petitioners from Kalinga were accompanied by delegates coming from dam-threatened communities in Kabugao, Apayao for a two-days Dam Learning Exchange. The Indigenous peoples delegation conducted an educational tour at the Ambuklao Dam site in Bokod, Benguet.

 

 

Ocular visit of delegates to the Ambuklao Dam. Ptr. Virgil Aniceto of the Regional Ecumenical Council of the Cordillera (RECCORD), who spent a long time of service in Bokod, explained the parts of the dam and the resulting damages at the time of its construction and beyond.

 

Bokod town Mayor, Honorable Thomas Wales, in his message to the delegates during their courtesy call said, "Think of the next generation, not only the now. Consider them when you make your decision regarding those projects. Our decision should not limit the future generations' options for development as they see fit for them. This is for the sake of us all."
 

In the community exchange, Ambuklao Barangay Captain Monroe Galasgas related the experience of their community during the building of the then government-owned 75MW Ambuklao Dam through the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR). "We had to leave our community. Some of our families were relocated to Nueva Vizcaya and Palawan however, our families eventually returned to Ambuklao because the relocation site was undeveloped," he said.
 

The dam was decommissioned in 1999 due to silt accumulation. It resumed operation in 2011 after it was rehabilitated by SN Aboitiz. It was since then upgraded to 105MW capacity. SN Aboitiz now owns and manages the facility, but last January this year, it was reported that Bokod indigenous peoples rejected the company’s bid to continue the said dam’s operation through a resolution of non-consent submitted to the provincial office of NCIP Benguet.
 

According to the community, a large portion of the lands covered by the dam compound are part of their ancestral domain. "We are still reclaiming some of our lands until now," Galasgas added.
 

"A lot of our questions have been answered regarding the long-term impacts of dam on the lives and livelihood of people," said Eusebia Luban, an Isnag woman from Kabugao, Apayao who attended the dam expo and tour.
 

"Balunen me dagitoy nga adal tapno ibingay mi met kadagiti kakailian mi," she added.
 

#OurRiversOursToDefend

#LetOurRiversFlowFreely

#DefendCordilleraPH

UN General Assembly calls for an end to the war in Ukraine

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution late last night (Feb 23), calling for an end to the war and demanding Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter.

Coming just hours before the war entered its second year, the resolution was adopted under the Uniting for Peace mandate, which provides the possibility for the UN General Assembly to take action to address acts of aggression or other serious threats to international peace when the Security Council is blocked by the veto power of one of the Permanent Five Members.

The UNGA resolution, entitled Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine contains 11 key points including;

• Deploring the dire human rights and humanitarian consequences of the war;
• Expressing deep concern about the adverse impact of the war on global food security, energy, nuclear security and safety and the environment;
• Calling for full adherence by the parties to the armed conflict to their obligations under international humanitarian law;
• Emphasizing the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes;
• Underscoring the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
• Reaffirming that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal;
• Demanding that the Russian Federation withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized border;
• Calling for a cessation of hostilities.

Time for Russia to End the Continuing War Against Ukraine
InDepthNews, February 23

"Russia should end its invasion of Ukraine, withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory and enter into negotiations with Ukraine to resolve historical disputes and establish a lasting and just peace that guarantees the security of both nations," says the World Future Council in an article Time for Russia to End Continuing War Against Ukraine published in InDepthNews yesterday.

“Regardless of any grievances and unresolved conflicts that Russia may have with Ukraine and the United States/NATO, the use of force to resolve such conflicts is prohibited under Article 2 of the UN Charter,” says Alyn Ware, Director of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament program.

"War has no place in the 21st century when humanity already needs to address so many pressing issues such as climate change and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals” says Angelina Davydova, in the InDepthNews article. Ms Davydova is a Member of the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group and Council Member of World Future Council.

“We regret that better use is not made of diplomacy, mediation and Common Security mechanisms earlier in conflicts to address and resolve historical grievances." says international lawyer Neshan Gunasekera, Co-Chair of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Commission and a Director of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. “We call on the United Nations and the international community to make better use of these common security mechanisms to address unresolved conflicts and prevent war." 

Such Common Security mechanisms include the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, International Court of Justice, UN mediation services, UN Human Rights Council, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and others.