Indonesia Introduces New Finance Facility to Meet Paris Climate Agreement Goals

Jakarta Globe, Ratri M. Siniwi,  October 27, 2016

Wind turbines used for generating electricity in East Sumba, East Nusa
Tenggara, in this April 2015 file photo. (Antara Photo/Hafiz Mubarak A.)

Jakarta. A new facility has been introduced in Indonesia that will be used to promote economic development to stimulate green growth and improve rural livelihoods.

The Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility, consisting of a loan fund and a grant fund, aims to achieve climate targets set under the Paris Agreement. It will make public funding available to finance renewable energy production and sustainable landscape management.

"This ground-breaking and innovative financial platform, a world first, can transform the lives and livelihoods of millions of Indonesians in rural areas that deserve it the most," Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility steering committee chairman Dr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said in a statement on Wednesday (26/10).

Through sustainable production of agricultural commodities, the facility will scale up investment in renewable energy to assist the rural poor.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry fully backs the facility as it falls in line with Indonesia's sustainable development aspirations.

"The Indonesian government realizes that we can only achieve the sustainable development goals through holistic policies, such as integrated landscape management," Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Darmin Nasution said. "The facility aims to improve smallholder productivity while at the same time conserving our natural environment."

Along with the facility's steering committee, French bank and financial services company BNP Paribas and multinational investment manager ADM Capital will manage the loan fund.

"By joining in a partnership with the Tropical Landscapes Financing Facility in the capacity of capital markets and structuring adviser, BNP Paribas will help create innovative and collaborative financing mechanisms to bring private capital at scale and with good governance and risk management principles to fund long-term sustainable development projects," BNP Paribas Indonesia chief executive Luc Cardyn said.

The facility's secretariat will be managed by the United Nations Environment Program.

"The facility will trigger progress across several sustainable development goals, including saving the climate, protecting biodiversity and fostering renewable energy," UN Assistant Secretary General Elliott Harris said.

Related Articles:

Joyful ministers seal landmark Paris Agreement to stop global warming

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet.

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”

Singapore banks urged to curtail loans to haze-linked firms

Yahoo – AFP, Martin Abbugao, 9 Oct 2015

A worker waters a field as downtown buildings are shrouded in smog in
Singapore on October 5, 2015 (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Singapore (AFP) - An umbrella group of local and foreign banks in smog-hit Singapore has urged members to make "sustainable development" part of their lending requirements, stepping up pressure on companies linked to land-clearing fires in Indonesia.

The 158-member Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) on Thursday issued guidelines for the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, forest degradation and biodiversity loss among the criteria for approving commercial loans.

The move came in the wake of fires illegally started to clear land for plantations on Sumatra island and the Indonesian part of Borneo, which have shrouded Singapore and Malaysia in acrid smoke since early September.

"The banking sector in Singapore wants to play a bigger role in driving responsible business and long-term sustainable development," ABS director Ong-Ang Ai Boon said in a statement.

The smoky haze has also reached the popular Thai holiday islands of Phuket and Samui, forcing several planes packed with beach-bound tourists to turn back.

Palm oil and pulp and paper companies are believed to be the main culprits behind the use of burning to clear massive tracts of land for their plantations, but prosecution by Indonesian authorities has been rare, prompting affected countries like Singapore to resort to economic pressure.

Singapore's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC Fairprice, this week withdrew from its shelves all paper products sourced from Indonesian-owned Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which has corporate offices in the city-state.

The company's suppliers are suspected of starting forest fires in Indonesia.

The Fullerton Hotel is blanketed in thick haze, in Singapore, on September 24,

2015 (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Related Articles:

Singapore moves against Indonesian firms over haze
Malaysia shuts schools as choking smog worsens

SBY Honored, Along With Companies, for Green Growth

Jakarta Globe, Feb 26, 2015

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he was still president of Indonesia. (EPA
Photo/Bagus Indahono).

Jakarta. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was among a diverse group of winners of awards for sustainable business practices whose names were announced on Wednesday evening, with the former Indonesian president receiving praise for “his achievements in developing green growth in Indonesia and his commitments to action on climate change globally.”

A Special Award for Leadership in Green Growth and Development was presented to Yudhoyono at the Shangri La Hotel Jakarta, during a ceremony attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofyan Djalil and other ministers, as well as CEOs, heads of international agencies and media.

“Development and growth is something that needs to be planned carefully. It needs to ensure social inclusiveness. It needs to protect the environment, it needs to correspond to climate challenge, it needs to go on for the long term,” Yudhoyono said at the award ceremony.

The 2014 Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia were organized by Global Initiatives in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The organizers said in a press release that cement company Holcim Indonesia emerged the overall winner, but companies such as Bank BNI, Astra International, Bukit Asam, Nestle Indonesia, Bumi Serpong Damai and Unilever also won in various categories.

Tony Gourlay, CEO of Global Initiatives, said in the press release: “For the third year in a row, we are pleased to showcase companies in Indonesia who have embedded sustainability in their corporate mission and whose leadership shares this vision. We encourage other companies to follow their lead and communicate their sustainability efforts more widely.”

The complete list of SBA winners

MAIN AWARDS

Overall Winner: Holcim Indonesia

1. Strategy and vision: Unilever Indonesia

2. Workforce: Holcim Indonesia

3. Community: Astra International

4. Energy management: Holcim Indonesia

5. Water management: Bukit Asam

6. Waste & material productivity: Danone Aqua Group

7. Climate Change: Holcim Indonesia

8. Supply Chain: Nestle Indonesia

9. Land Use, Biodiversity and the Environment: Monsanto Indonesia (Branita Sandini)

10. Business Responsibility and Ethics: Unilever Indonesia

* Environmental Disclosure: Dupont Agriculture Products Indonesia

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARDS

1. Pioneer in Green Finance in Indonesia: Bank Negara Indonesia

2. Outstanding leadership in sustainable agriculture: Great Giant Pineapple

3. SME placing sustainability at the core of its business: Pulau Nikoi

4. Outstanding Energy Management in the mining sector: Vale Indonesia

5. Outstanding Water Management in the property sector: Bumi Serpong Damai

Special Award for Green Growth & Leadership: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

VP Kalla Tells Business Owners to Behave

Jakarta Globe, Novianti Setuningsih, Dec 08, 2014

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, left, talking with Trade Minister Rachmet Gobel at
 the leadership meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin) on Monday. (Antara Photo/Muhammad Adimaja)

Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla in a speech for the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) on Monday urged the nation’s entrepreneurs to stop ruining the environment and pay their taxes.

“In the wood-trading era, in the 1960s and 70s, a lot of trees were cut down, causing floods that we still have to deal with until now,” said Kalla, himself a successful businessman.

The vice president also told the hundreds of entrepreneurs attending Kadin’s national leadership meeting that the government was going to improve its natural resources management.

“The mining sector was profiting while our environment was wasted. The [new] regulation is made to protect our natural resources,” Kalla said.

He added that business should also pay all taxes and royalties they owe, and that owners could be banned from traveling abroad if they fail to do so.

Kalla explained that the government needed the income from taxes and royalties to help fund its program to improve the nation’s infrastructure.

Related Article:

Jokowi’s Call for Ecological Reform Reaches Palm Oil Firms

Asia-Pacific ministers pledge to step up graft fight

Yahoo – AFP, 8 Nov 2014

Visitors walk past a sign promoting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

(APEC) summit in Beijing on November 8, 2104 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Beijing (AFP) - China secured backing from Asia-Pacific ministers Saturday to deepen anti-graft efforts, in a move that dovetails with a high-profile Communist Party "fox hunt" for corrupt officials who have fled abroad.

The anti-corruption proposal is said to have been pushed by China and backed by the United States at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in Beijing, which culminates in a two-day summit of leaders from 21 member-economies starting Monday.

China's President Xi Jinping speaks to 

other leaders at a meeting on the

 sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic

 Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing

 on November 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/Kim

Kyung-Hoon)

US Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the moved as a "major step forward" in combatting graft.

"Corruption not only creates an unfair playing field, it not only distorts economic relationships, but corruption also steals from the people of every country the belief that the system can work for everybody," he told reporters in Beijing.

But it remained unclear how effective the move would be, amid apprehension in some countries over returning suspects to China due to fears they could be subject to abuse and denied legal due process.

China in July launched its so-called "Fox Hunt" -- a campaign to bring back corrupt officials or their family members who have moved abroad, taking ill-gotten gains with them.

Since taking office last year, President Xi Jinping has made the graft fight a central theme of his administration as public anger swells over widespread corruption.

A report attributed to China's central bank and leaked three years ago said that as many as 18,000 corrupt officials had left the country between the 1990s and 2008, taking as much as $123 billion with them.

'Deny safe haven'

In a statement, APEC ministers pledged to step up nascent anti-corruption efforts with a regional commitment to "deny safe haven to those engaged in corruption, including through extradition".

Regional leaders gather in Beijing on November 8, 2014 for the Asia-Pacific 

Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the Chinese capital (AFP Photo/

Kim Kyung-Hoon)

But they stressed that such moves would be "subject to domestic laws and policies" and needed to be carried out "in accordance with fundamental legal principles of each economy".

"We, APEC member economies, recognise that corruption impedes economic sustainability and development, threatens social security and fairness, undermines the rule of law, and erodes government accountability, as well as public trust," the statement said.

It pledged to establish an office for the day-to-day running of the APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies (ACT-NET), a body coordinating anti-corruption efforts that was launched by Chinese and US officials in August.

The office will "assist in detecting, investigating and prosecuting corruption, bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade" and seek cooperation on tracking cases across borders.

China has recently announced stepped-up efforts to extradite former officials suspected of corruption from countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

China's President Xi Jinping (C) speaks to

 other leaders attending the Dialogue On 

Strengthening Connectivity Partnership in

 Beijing on November 8, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Kim Kyung-Hoon)

Australian police said last month that they would work with their Chinese counterparts to track down and seize illegal assets, but foreign concerns over the country's legal system linger.

Anti-corruption efforts with the ruling Communist Party are carried out by an internal body which operates without any legal oversight, and there is concern that the crackdown may be used for political faction-fighting.

APEC Secretariat Executive Director Alan Bollard said Thursday the proposal had been championed by China and the United States.

Bollard said any anti-corruption effort "needs to happen within the different laws and legal structures" of APEC members, but the statement did not spell out how this would work.

"Corruption impedes economic sustainability and development, threatens social security and fairness," the ministers added.

Related Article:

Upgraded anti-graft office to catch more crooked Chinese officials

Pushing for Change in Doing Business in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Muhamad Al Azhari & Tito Summa Siahaan, November 29, 2013

Company executives pose with their sustainable business awards at the Business
 for the Environment (B4E) Summit in Jakarta on Thursday. The event stressed that
environmentally sound business practices should be the standard to strive for.
(JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

Gone are the days when companies operating in Indonesia had no obligation to pay any attention to the environment, with the country’s investment chief now calling for a sea change in how environmental sustainability should be viewed in the context of doing business.

“For Indonesia, it is not just a voluntary decision to be a part of this global undertaking,” Mahendra Siregar, the chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said on Thursday at the Business for the Environment (B4E) Indonesia Summit 2013 in Jakarta.

“Sustainable development, and sustainable investment is not just a matter a choice, it is not just an option. It is a must,” he said.

More sustainable and environmentally friendly business practices have increasingly become more important for investors, stakeholders and shareholders, Mahendra told business leaders, top government officials as well as prominent figures from nongovernmental organizations at the B4E summit.

“Unless your business model, the supply-chain activities are already very much in accordance globally and nationally recognized sustainable practices, then it is just a matter of time before you are out of business,” said Mahendra, a longtime bureaucrat who has held various important positions in the government.

The summit was hosted at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta by the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Global Initiatives, BeritaSatu and the Indonesian Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD). The Jakarta Globe is a BeritaSatu publication.

The new paradigm being pushed by Mahendra has elsewhere been dubbed green economy practices.

According to United Nations Environment Program, a green economy is defined as “one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.”

In its simplest form, a green economy should result in low carbon emissions, be resource efficient and socially inclusive.

Around 400 delegates from various stakeholders, including local and multi-national companies, had a chance to discuss recommendations for sustainability, natural capital valuation as well as investments in sustainable forestry and agricultural landscapes during the summit.

Key figures speaking at the forum included Bayu Krishnamurthi, the deputy minister for trade; Peter Holmgren, the director general of the Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor); and IBCSD president Shinta Kamdani.

“If we understand the big picture, then individually we can share our ideas and initiatives to enrich not only the discussion, not only the conceptual thinking, but more importantly to the concrete deliverable that are now much needed than just an issue of negotiations,” Mahendra said.

“There are no other options.”

Indonesian companies, particularly palm oil producers and pulp and paper companies, have long been criticized by environmental organizations for massive deforestation that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Some Indonesian companies have adopted green business practices while others are only starting to catch up to the new measures. Analysts note that an obstacle to making the business model standard practice is that it requires a large amount of investment, which can discourage many companies from spending the money on such an investment. Lack of awareness is also to blame, observers say, but the trend appears to be changing.

“Increasingly investors look at companies from a perspective called ESG, or environmental, social and governance,” said Tony Gourlay, the chief executive of Global Initiatives, a forum that promotes sustainable global development through a series of media projects and international events like the B4E Summit series.

“There are some criteria that private banks, private equity companies and institutional investors, see when they make decisions to invest,” he said.

Shinta said many companies “still have very limited understanding about what sustainable development is.”

“Some think that corporate social responsibility is sustainable development, and some say that if they talk about green, it should be in the context of public relations affairs, or marketing tools, or a means to promote the company,” she said.

The IBCSD is a CEO-led association from corporations operating in Indonesia. Members of the association, which was conceived by Kadin in April 2011, share a commitment to promoting sustainable development and the main aim of encouraging companies to apply ecological balance, apart from best social practices.

“I think we should change those kind of mind-sets and I believe there should be a set of standards for what we call green business,” said Shinta, who is also the chief executive and owner of Sintesa Group, a conglomerate with a diversified portfolio covering property, industrial, energy and consumer businesses.

The B4E Summit also honored the winners of the second annual Sustainable Business Awards (SBA), which recognize best practices and leadership in sustainable business among Indonesian companies.

Developed in partnership with Kadin, BeritaSatu, Global Initiatives and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the SBA methodology mixes the best sustainability benchmarking and awards processes globally to deliver green business growth.

Twenty-one companies received awards on Thursday night, coming from various sectors, including construction, banking and finance, health care, and even pulp and paper.

“This shows Indonesian companies are realizing that sustainable business makes sense for many reasons,” Gourlay said.

Senior government officials have emphasized that sustainable business is not merely a concept, but something that is reflected in national policies.

Bayu, the deputy trade minister, said sustainability in business meant sustainable economic growth for the country.

“We implement sustainable practices not because we have to, but because we need to,” he said.

He added the Trade Ministry had directed its policies toward sustainable practices with a view toward three objectives: environmental protection, fair trade, and economic growth.

“That’s why we have some of the toughest licensing rules in the world for timber product, known as SVLK, and for palm oil, known as ISPO,” Bayu said.

“With these rules, we want to make life very difficult for those who don’t follow the highest standards of sustainability.”

The strongest call for companies to go greener, however, has always come from customers. One example of how pressure from customers effected positive change can be seen in Unilever, the consumer goods giant that invested in a palm oil processing plant in the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of North Sumatra, specifically to allow it enable the traceability of the palm oil used in its products.

“Unilever plans to purchase palm oil sustainably from certified, traceable sources by 2020,” the company said on its website. “As one of the world’s largest buyers of palm oil for use in products such as margarine, ice cream, soap and shampoo, Unilever recognizes the need to be able to trace where its palm oil is grown. Unilever also wants to ensure certified palm oil supplies are not mixing with non-certified supplies during milling, transport and use,” Unilever said. The plant will be operated by a Unilever subsidiary, Unilever Oleochemical Indonesia, and is scheduled to start commercial production next year.

Tax Break for Eco-Friendly Car Producers Now Official: Minister

Jakarta Globe, ID/Damiana Ningsih, June 5, 2013

A model poses next to a car displayed at the Indonesia International
Motor Show 2012 on Sept. 20, 2012. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

The government has officially issued a decree to support the production of low-cost, environmentally-friendly cars in Indonesia, a minister confirmed on Wednesday.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Wednesday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the 2013 decree number 41 on luxury items tax, which includes vehicles, on May 23. The decree was legalized on the same day by Legal and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin.

“This regulation will cover some programs related to eco-friendly cars, support conservation of energy use and [the use of] alternative energy, for example low-cost and green cars, hybrid, electric cars and cars using biofuel. It will curb taxes and boost demand for greener cars,” he said.

Hidayat said no luxury tax would be imposed on cars or station wagons with engine capacity of up to 1,200 cc and with a minimum fuel consumption of 20 kilometers per liter.

Tax exemption would also apply to diesel or semi-diesel vehicles of up to 1,500 cc, also with minimum fuel consumption of 20 kilometers per liter.

The current tax for new vehicles ranges from 10-75 percent depending on engine size. Only emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, are tax exempt.

Some analysts have forecast that the policy could eventually boost Indonesian vehicle consumption by a third.

Indonesian auto sales, buoyed by an expanding middle class, hit a record 1.1 million last year though the figure is expected to be slightly lower this year because of likely fuel price increases and higher downpayment requirements.

Hidayat said the automotive industry could now launch eco-friendly car production in line with the regulation. He added that the regulation was aimed at spurring a long-term movement toward sustainability, rather than immediate commercial interests.

“Relating to the price [of the vehicle], even though there was a pricing set by the Ministry of Finance, I wish for flexibility. The pricing should be as fair as possible when complying with the adopted technology. Don’t make it solely as a commercial purpose,” Hidayat said.

Previously, Astra International said the company would delay production of its eco-friendly vehicle, the Ayla, until government regulations on low-cost, green cars were finalized.

Astra Daihatsu Motor opened a new plant in Karawang, West Java, in April that has a production capacity of 120,000 units per year. Daihatsu had set a goal to produce 3,000 Ayla cars per month in the facility.

Related Articles:

SBY Signs Eco-Friendly Car Regulation


New subsidies for green cars in China

Electric cars slow to gain traction in Germany

Plug-in hybrids may outpace other new-energy cars in China

Hong Kong Launches First Electric Taxis

Hyundai Unveil the World’s First Mass Produced Fuel Cell Vehicle

Hyundai Unveil the World’s First Mass Produced Fuel Cell Vehicle

SBY Signs Eco-Friendly Car Regulation

Jakarta Globe, May 28, 2013

KompasOtomotif

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently signed a government regulation aimed at supporting the development of environmentally-friendly vehicles in Indonesia.

Newsportal Kompas.com reported on Tuesday that Yudhoyono signed the Low Emission Car Project decree, which seeks to curb taxes and boost demand for greener cars.

“The president signed it yesterday [Monday],” Johnny Darmawan, the president director of Toyota Astra Motor, told Kompas.com on Monday.

An anonymous source at the Ministry of Industry also confirmed to Kompas that the decree had been signed.

The regulation stipulates special tax incentives for eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars. Furthermore, it notes that such cars must be assembled in Indonesia and fulfill the minimum standard for local parts to receive the tax break.

“It was proposed that luxury taxes would not apply to low-cost green cars ,” Budi Darmadi, the director general of advanced industry based on high technology at the Ministry of Industry, said.

Previously, Astra International said the company would delay production of its eco-friendly vehicle model, the Ayla.

Astra Daihatsu director Pongky Prabowo said the company is waiting for government regulations on low-cost green cars before it starts producing the Daihatsu Ayla and the Toyota Agya, the latter a collaboration with Toyota Motors.

Related Article:

New subsidies for green cars in China

Norway to double carbon tax on oil industry

Extra funding for climate change mitigation and forestry programmes also part of oil-rich nation's radical programme

guardian.co.uk, Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent, Thursday 11 October 2012

Ekofisk oil platform in the North Sea, Norway. The Norwegian government has
 proposed increasing its carbon tax on offshore oil companies. Photograph:
Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images

Norway is to double carbon tax on its North Sea oil industry and set up a £1bn fund to help combat the damaging impacts of climate change in the developing world.

In one of the most radical climate programmes yet by an oil-producing nation, the Norwegian government has proposed increasing its carbon tax on offshore oil companies by £21 to £45 (Nkr410) per tonne of CO2 and a £5.50 (Nkr50) per tonne CO2 tax on its fishing industry.

Norway will also plough an extra £1bn (Nkr10bn) into its funds for climate change mitigation, renewable energy, food security in developing countries and conversion to low-carbon energy sources, Environmental Finance reported.

It will step up spending on new projects to combat deforestation in developing countries to £44m, taking up its spending overall on forestry programmes to £327m. Previous forestry projects have involved Brazil, Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The Oslo government is also to spend £69m on buying carbon credits in 2013, to help offset its emissions, force through new building regulations to make all new homes carbon-neutral by 2015 and increase efforts to heavily cut emissions from cars, switching to electric vehicles.

The scale of these initiatives will pose a significant political challenge to other oil-producing nations, who are also investing in low-carbon technologies and cutting their own emissions, but not yet investing heavily in tackling the impacts of climate change on developing countries.

The UK and Scottish governments estimate there are up to 24bn barrels of oil left to be exploited over the next 40 years from the UK's oil and gas fields in the North Sea, west of Shetland and smaller sites off western England.

But that would lead to total CO2 emissions of an extra 10bn tonnes – dwarfing the UK's annual 500m tonnes of CO2 emissions, at a time when many climate scientists urge cutbacks in oil, gas and coal use to avoid significant global warming and to meet climate targets.

Neither the UK or Scottish government has supported a carbon tax on the oil and gas industry.

The Scottish government, which often looks to Norway as a model for its independence plans, has greatly increased its funding and support for renewable energy investment. It announced a £103m investment fund for marine renewables and community power schemes on Wednesday and has a £4m "climate justice fund" to help developing countries.

But fields in Scottish waters account for about 80% of the UK's North Sea oil and gas fields, which produced 1m barrels of oil a day in August.

Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, said on Wednesday that oil economies have a"moral obligation" to increase low-carbon energy and tackle climate change, but says there is no contradiction in maximising oil, gas and coal production.

He told a conference on low-carbon investment: "As countries such as Denmark show, there's no contradiction between making use of substantial in their case gas reserves which will be needed by the rest of the world in the coming decades by the rest of the world, while leading the transition to a low-carbon economy."

After speaking at the same conference on Thursday, Ed Davey, the UK energy and climate secretary, told the Guardian he believed the UK's actions on climate change and green energy were also world-leading. The UK government was putting £3bn into the new green investment bank, and aims to cut CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020, he said.

Asked about Norway's new programme, Davey said: "I would say that the UK government has very ambitious climate change targets and carbon emission reduction targets.

"We were one of the first countries in the world to pass legally binding targets on ourselves, with the Climate Change Act 2008 which had cross party support. And the government has introduced on the back of that, the fourth carbon budget and the whole electricity market reform, the green deal, the green investment bank.

"These are all our tools to deliver on those targets; these are incredibly ambitious and maybe some countries are catching us up."

Ranking third among the world's oil exporters, with production peaking at 3m barrels of oil a day, Norway has 51 active oil and gas fields in the North Sea, and believes it has more than 7bn barrels of undiscovered reserves. Its oil and gas sector is the world's richest: its employees earn $180,000 on average a year.

With a population of 5 million - the same as Scotland - it is the third wealthiest country per capita in the world thanks to its oil and gas exports. Norway's plans to offset the impacts of its oil exports on the world's climate come as it also proposes to expand oil exploration into the Barents Sea to the far north.

Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said: "Norway is showing how you can use oil income to fund the transition out of oil, we should be doing the same with UK oil revenues. The Scottish National Party have always been keen on the Norwegian oil fund, and now it is setting an example really worth following."

Related Articles:

Norway, Indonesia $1 Billion Forest Pact Broken, Group Says


Nigerian farmers sue Shell in the Hague

US Supreme Court denies Chevron $19bn Ecuador appeal


"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”