VZCZCXRO7048
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1771/01 1781134
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271134Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5253
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0565
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4134
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0859
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4085
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1297
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001771 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
AIDAC 
 
DEPT FOR OES/EGC AND EAP/MTS 
COMMERCE FOR NOAA/INTERNATIONAL 
USDOE FOR INTERNATIONAL AND FOSSIL ENERGY 
TREASURY FOR BAUKOL AND BERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KGHG SENV ENRG ID
 
SUBJECT: INDONESIA - REACTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE 
 
REF: STATE 75287 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Per reftel, Embassy hosted eleven Indonesian NGOs 
for a roundtable discussion of President Bush's new international 
framework initiative, and reaction was generally positive.  The NGOs 
stressed that combating deforestation needs to be part of the 
initiative, along with increased investment to developing countries. 
 Embassy also met with a leading environmental think tank, which 
recommended early involvement of non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs) in the initiative.  Liana Bratasida, expert advisor to the 
Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, stressed the importance 
of Chinese participation.  A longtime participant of the Conference 
of Parties (COP) to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change 
(UNFCCC) called for stronger U.S. leadership.  Media reaction to the 
initiative noted the USG has failed to take a strong enough 
leadership role on climate change, and that the administration's 
views are not in line with U.S. public opinion.  End Summary. 
 
Don't Forget Deforestation 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 20, Embassy hosted in Jakarta nineteen individuals 
representing eleven NGOs (see full list para 14).  The NGOs covered 
a spectrum of the conservation movement globally and in Indonesia. 
Embassy briefed on President Bush's May 31 initiative, and explained 
current clean development and climate change projects in the U.S. 
The formal presentation was only 30 minutes, but the subsequent 
discussion lasted for nearly 90 minutes. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The NGOs mentioned several times that the USG needs to 
assist Indonesia with its deforestation problem.  They view 
deforestation, both legal and illegal, as Indonesia's biggest 
challenge on climate change.  It is small comfort to see the USG 
promote biofuels on the world stage with the possible result of even 
more Indonesian rainforests burned to clear the way for palm oil 
plantations.  (Note: Indonesia has promoted palm oil for a biodiesel 
and international demand for crude palm oil has soared.  Heavy smoke 
pollution from annual burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan contributes 
significantly to greenhouse gases.) 
 
NGOs: More Investment Capital Needed 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The NGOs state that the bottleneck for progress in 
Indonesia under the U.N. Development Program's Clean Development 
Mechanism (CDM) and other projects is a lack of capital investment. 
The NGOs asked for details on how the framework will assist 
developing countries, beyond promises to end tariffs on clean energy 
and make new technology more affordable. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The NGOs are also curious about the role Indonesia, and 
NGOs specifically, can play in the November meeting with the 15 
largest emitters.  They also stated that the USG deliver a holistic 
and sustainable approach and not just a "piecemeal" list of 
projects.  Citing the USG's involvement in energy reform through 
working with Ministry of Energy and other stakeholders in the early 
1990s, the NGOs praised the USAID project for successful engagement, 
bringing in technical expertise for a long-term holistic approach to 
this important initiative.  The NGOs asked a number of questions, 
including whether the USG is collecting specific reactions to the G8 
summit declaration and whether the USG would be expanding or 
contracting their overall budgeted assistance for programs like the 
Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) and other forestry-related 
programs. 
 
Think Tank Recommends Early NGO Involvement 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In a meeting with Moekti Handajani Soejachmoen, Executive 
Director of Yayasan Pelangi Indonesia, one of Indonesia's leading 
environmental think tanks, Soejachmoen urged that the U.S. consider 
early involvement of NGOs in helping prepare for the President's 
meeting of the top 15 major emitting nations.  Soejachmoen noted 
that if the U.S. took steps to better inform leading NGOs and think 
tanks from high-emitting nations about the details, structure and 
agenda of the proposed President's meeting, NGOs would be able to 
 
JAKARTA 00001771  002 OF 003 
 
 
help prepare the official delegations from their countries. 
Soejachmoen's believes better planning with more stakeholder buy-in 
results from partnering with NGOs in developing the country plans. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Soejachmoen also noted that she was in agreement with many 
of the NGOs' comments provided during the roundtable.  She remarked 
that many of the stakeholders in Indonesia (government, NGOs, and 
public) still needed to do their homework to better understand 
climate change and how all the issues tied together with competing 
government agendas.  Citing the trade-off of palm oil jobs with 
deforestation, Soejachmoen noted that climate change issues span 
multiple Indonesian ministries: Environment, Energy, Forestry, and 
Research and Technology.  A government plan must be coordinated all 
relevant ministries, and consider the availability of technical 
experts. 
 
Participation of China Crucial to Success 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) On June 25,  Liana Bratasida, Expert to the Minister for 
Global Environmental Affairs (a position at the level of Deputy 
Minister) told us that she saw President Bush's Climate Change 
policy as a positive development.  She sees the initiative as a 
process where the U.S. is now interested in developing both its own 
national strategy but also assuming greater leadership within 
climate change.  She welcomed the initiative as "a good signal" of 
U.S. intentions.  However, Liana noted that Indonesia would watch 
closely how China would handle the invitation to join the U.S. 
proposed meeting of the top 15 emitters.  She felt that persuading 
China to participate would be critical to overall success. "Without 
China, how can it really be successful?"  Liana also expressed 
concerns about the link between the President's plan, the COP-13 
conference in Bali, and recent efforts made by the Asia Pacific 
Partnership on Climate Technology.  Liana said that Indonesia would 
likely focus on three issues in the context of the President's plan: 
stakeholder involvement, attention to forestry and linkages to 
technology transfer. 
 
Stronger Leadership by U.S. and Others Needed 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) We spoke on June 26 with the country director of 
EcoSecurities Indonesia, a company that sources, develops, and 
trades carbon credits.  He has been to every UNFCCC COP except for 
COP 2.  He stated that "developed countries must provide strong 
leadership" on climate change, and that the time for action is now. 
The U.S. should work with countries that can meet emissions targets 
with some help and encouragement, such as South Korea and Singapore, 
to serve as a precedent for developing countries in their plans 
regarding emissions.  It is also important to consider the emissions 
of sub-national regions, noting that industrialized coastal China is 
much different than rural China. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In Indonesia, 85% of emissions stem from deforestation, 
and 33% of global deforestation emissions are from Indonesia. 
Cutting deforestation would be "an easy win", showing the world that 
a developing country can set and meet targets, and bring emissions 
down.  He stated that Indonesia has a significant opportunity with 
biofuels, but that the problem is sustainability.  The Indonesian 
government pursues cheap coal-fired power with higher emissions, 
ignoring the opportunities from fuel from the biomass waste at palm 
oil mills. 
 
Forests on Worldwide Agenda 
--------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) On June 26, we spoke with the director and a senior 
scientist of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), 
which focuses on forestry and land use.  They stated that the 
increased awareness of climate change now brings forests "on the 
worldwide agenda," but stressed the need to see forests in the whole 
context of the climate change issue.  Adaptation issues must receive 
the same attention as mitigation issues, noting that land use is an 
area which can address both.  Many individuals have discussed 
adaptation since COP-8, but only further talk resulted, not actions. 
 They hope that COP-13 will stress adaptation issues.  They also 
 
JAKARTA 00001771  003 OF 003 
 
 
cautioned against the wide-ranging focus on technology in President 
Bush's initiative: progress in forestry and land use result from 
economic incentives and governmental policy. 
 
Media: U.S. Not Taking a Leadership Role 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (U) The Indonesian media primarily reported on the President's 
climate change proposal in conjunction with the G8 Summit.  The few 
opinion pieces published in domestic newspapers expressed two 
consistent themes: the U.S. has failed to take a leadership role on 
the climate change issue, and that the administration's views on 
climate change are not in line with those of the U.S. public and 
Congress.  Indonesia's largest English-language daily newspaper, The 
Jakarta Post, ran an opinion piece on June 7 stating that the 
proposal does not include enough detail and does not account for 
existing international efforts to combat climate change.  The author 
suggested that the President Bush's proposal does not live up to the 
expectation that the U.S. will take a leadership role on climate 
change.  He indicated that the President's plan does not take the 
climate change issue as seriously as the U.S. public and politicians 
do.  Indonesia's largest Indonesian-language daily newspaper, 
Kompas, published a similar opinion piece on June 14. 
 
¶13. (U) Soejachmoen also gave an interview on June 14 to the Jakarta 
Post regarding the COP-13 conference in Bali and the U.S. stance on 
climate change.  She suggested there needs to be an internal process 
within the U.S. to shift the administration's position on climate 
change.  Some policy-makers in other countries feel that they must 
wait for the U.S. to participate in global negotiations before a 
replacement for the Kyoto Protocol is developed. 
 
NGO Roundtable Attendees 
------------------------ 
 
¶14. (SBU) NGOs attending the roundtable event included: 
 
--Yayasan Pelangi Indonesia (focus on air quality, energy, and 
transportation management) 
 
--WWF Indonesia (Program director for climate change and energy 
attended) 
 
--Yayasan Bina Usaha Lingkungan YBUL (focus on responsible and 
environmental sustainable energy and clean technology) 
 
--KEHATI (focus on Indonesian biodiversity) 
 
--IBEKA (focus on rural electrification and clean water supply in 
remote areas) 
 
--Conservation International Indonesia (focus on conservation of 
living nature heritage, including illegal logging in Sumatra) 
 
--Birdlife Indonesia (focus on conservation on sites, species and 
habitats) 
 
--WCS Wildlife Conservation Society (focus climate change adaptation 
and mitigation for tigers and other wildlife) 
 
--EcoSecurities (focus on sourcing, developing, and trading carbon 
credits) 
 
--Energi Alternatif Indonesia (focus on biofuels and alternative 
energy sources) 
 
--TELAPAK (focus on forestry and illegal logging) 
 
HEFFERN