Jakarta, 24 Maret 2022 –
On Wednesday, March 23, the Plenary G20 Environment Deputies Meeting and Climate Sustainability Working Group (1st EDM-CSWG) in Yogyakarta came to a close. During the last session, all G20 delegates supported the discussion elements, which serves as the elaboration of the G20 EDM-CSWG's three priority agendas.
The outcomes of this meeting are a good indicator in the process of preparing the G20 communiqué on the environment and sustainable climate change at the ministerial level. The outcomes will be addressed further in the next EDM-CSWG meeting, which will take place in June in Jakarta and August in Bali.
As Co-Chair of the G20 Environment Deputies Meeting and Climate Sustainability Working Group (EDM-CSWG), Laksmi Dwanthi, Director General of Climate Change Control (PPI) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), revealed that the EDM-CSWG delegates hope that the agreed communiqué will be able to invite the global community to implement a global agenda related to handling environmental problems and control.
"The G20 countries also suggest and hope that the communique will be able to send a strong message not only to the G20, but also to the rest of the world, that the G20 forum is serious about environmental and climate change issues, is committed to working together, and leads the implementation existing environmental and climate change agendas," Laksmi said.
Laksmi cited several commitments made by the international community, including the agenda for dealing with marine plastic litter, water management issues, and controlling climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through more ambitious targets, all of which were discussed at the UNFCCC's COP 26 in Glasgow last year.
"Everyone hopes that the process of developing the next communiqué at the second and third EDM-CSWG meetings will go well, and that at the ministerial level, it will be able to generate a strong communiqué document as well as an action plan that can be implemented," Laksmi added.
The communiqué at the ministerial level will eventually be used to help prepare the G20 leaders' declaration at the G20 Summit in November 2022.
In line with this, Sigit Reliantoro, Director General of Pollution and Environmental Damage Control (PPKL) and Co-Chair of the G20 Environment Deputies Meeting and Climate Sustainability Working Group (EDM-CSWG), stated that the G20 delegates and international organizations in attendance gave a positive response to the results of this two-day dialogue.
"Alhamdulillah, the main and sub-priority issues that we addressed got support from member countries, including invited countries and international organizations," Sigit added.
He went on to say that the EDM dialogue focused on seven priority issues: land degradation, biodiversity loss, marine litter, water, sustainable consumption and resource efficiency, sustainable finance, and marine protection.
"Six issues have been resolved as a result of obtaining input from G20 EDM member countries. The issue of sustainable consumption and resource efficiency will be discussed at the second meeting later in June," Sigit said.
According to Sigit, the delegates also recommended that the existing framework be continued in the issue of land degradation. The delegates also backed Indonesia's actual initiatives to rehabilitate mangroves and peatlands on a wide scale.
Regarding the issue of biodiversity loss, the delegates supported the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Furthermore, the delegates also supported the efforts to reduce marine litter, with one focus being on how to promote as little plastic waste into the water as possible by incorporating it into a circular economic cycle.
Regarding the water issue, Sigit stated that the delegates were enthusiastic about the idea of focusing this platform not just on water security, but also on environmental improvement approaches, such as nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches.
"These approaches are considered as having huge potential since the investment is not too large, but the advantages can be seen by the local community immediately," Sigit noted.
On the issue of sustainable finance, the delegates called for defined benchmarks and objectives for the process of establishing a sustainable environment, according to Sigit, so that funding needs and formats may be properly identified. As a result, transparent means of reporting and private sector engagement must be promoted and fostered. On the climate change issue, Laksmi said the G20 delegates intend to strengthen the climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda, as agreed at the UNFCCC COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021. The G20 delegates also back the linkages between marine issues (ocean) and climate change, as well as the mobilization of resources (funding, research, technology, and capacity building)
