Climate Change in Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the principal global emitters of green house gases. Its total emissions in 2005, 2.8 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent, were estimated to equal the combined emissions from the UK, France, Italy and Germany.

The bulk of its emissions arise from land use change, deforestation and forest fires. Deforestation accounts for nearly 40% of Indonesia’s emissions. The 2008 Eliasch Review reported that Indonesia was responsible for over one third of all global emissions from net deforestation in 2000.

Indonesia’s peat deposits cover between 20-27 million hectares – the largest in the world after Russia and Canada. Indonesia’s peatlands contain almost as much carbon as the Amazon basin.

The drying of peatlands following deforestation or drainage generates more greenhouse gases per hectare than any other activity. Emissions from Indonesia’s peatlands through burning or drying are estimated to be equivalent to the total global emissions from air and sea transport.

The World Bank recently reported that Indonesia uses fuel and electricity inefficiently and in excess. Carbon emissions from energy use are predicted to increase by seven times by 2030.

By 2100, estimates suggest that the impact of climate change on Indonesia could be costing the equivalent of 7 percent of GDP.

Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate, most directly because it has long coastlines, with 40 million people living less than 10m above sea level and is highly dependent on agriculture and natural resources.

Climate change will have the greatest impact on the poorest Indonesians: currently over 100 million Indonesians live on less than 2 US$ a day.

Indonesia has one fifth of all the coral reefs in the world. The reefs – the marine biodiversity they support and the fishing communities that depend on them - are threatened by rising in sea temperature and acidity.

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