I found it somewhat troubling after learning about Indonesian government’s focus on the forestry sector for its 2020 goal of 26% carbon emissions reduction.  An article from Reuters indicates that Indonesia is the world’s No. 3 greenhouse gas emitter due to deforestation, peatland degradation and forest fires [article].  The pledge for cutting 26% carbon emissions by Indonesian government is then welcomed by international [article], although some say that it is pretty ambitious.  The interesting part is what President SBY said:

“This target is entirely achievable because most of our emissions come from forest-related issues, such as forest fires and deforestation,”

Is his remark accurate?  Is forestry sector where we get the most of our carbon emissions?  The World Research Institute data shows Indonesian carbon emissions by sector, where transportation sector is the largest sector by 24% [source].  Some may argue that the data they used was generated in 1999.  But learning the trend of carbon emissions globally, transportation is almost always in the top three carbon emitters.  My comment is that not paying serious attention in transportaion sector will be a huge mistake.

Why do you think forestry sector is important to Indonesian government?  Why transportation is less discussed, if it is not less important?  Please share your thoughts by adding your comments below.

dh