A problem fostered by generations past, climate change, will be an existential threat tackled by people who played a minuscule role in its creation. Whether someone thinks about it daily or as a fleeting thought after a natural disaster, it will become more present in our lives. Members of Indonesia's next generation must be aware of the institutions, policymakers, and programs designed to help us combat the climate crisis. None are more critical than SDG's guiding global principles and the convention's annual progress reports. Last year's meeting has brought with it some encouraging strides and sobering reminders of work yet to be done.

Let's dive into the key takeaways from the November meeting:

Key Takeaways and Positive Future Prospects:

• Education: Literacy and numeracy rates are soaring, particularly among girls. According to UNICEF, around ⅔ of all countries have reached a parity in primary school enrollment rates between boys and girls. Despite the price increase, access to higher education has improved across most of the developing and developed world, with the higher education rate increasing gradually since a fall during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Health: Amidst recovery from the pandemic, global health efforts have increased and become top of mind for most of the world's leaders. Funding from organizations like the UN and IMF has been directed to better uphold International health regulations (IHR) to ensure that countries that receive World Health Organization (WHO) money and aid are compliant with the standards required to receive said help. Hopefully evolution of these standards will ensure better protection against future pandemics.

• Poverty Reduction: Extreme poverty rates have halved since 2015, a remarkable achievement fueled by economic growth and targeted social programs. Indonesia's own programs, like Nusantara Economic Heroes and the Smallholder Business Credit (KUR), are examples of a global shift to end extreme poverty and increase economic development from the ground up. 

• Climate Change: While challenges remain, Indonesia has shown progress in some areas related to climate action.

  • Renewable Energy: Unfortunately, coal remains Indonesia's lead power source at over 60 percent, followed by 20 percent stemming from natural gas. The other 20 percent stem from other sources EX: oil, bio-diesel, and renewables. The national electricity plan states that Java-Bali and Sumatra could sustain a transition to 10 percent solar by 2025. The entirety of Indonesia's various power grids could see an increase of 23 percent of Indonesia's power consumption originating from renewables.

  • Forest Conservation: Efforts to combat deforestation are yielding steady results. While the nation hasn't reclaimed the 3 million hectares President Widodo claimed from 2011 to 2020, FWI reports it has reclaimed around 1 million. Indonesia is responsible for generating more carbon offsets than required to meet the country's Net zero goals, making reforestation both a positive climate action process and an economic generator for the nation.

  • Climate-Smart Agriculture: Initiatives around supporting farms with better access to technology combined with sustainable fertilizers have produced an increase in agricultural yield despite a worsening climate. The adoption of IOT soil sensors and satellite imaging has given farmers a better overview of the crops and, therefore, an advantage in dealing with drought, disease, or other climate crisis factors. Additionally, the adoption of natural fertilizers over their chemical counterparts in conjunction with processes like cover cropping has helped to reduce long-term soil erosion. 

National Commitment in Focus:

Indonesia's NDC target of reducing emissions by 29% by 2030 is an ambitious commitment. However, translating this lofty goal into concrete action requires more substantial investments in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and forest conservation. It's essential that Indonesia maintains continuous economic growth while making the green transition. Indonesia's LTC-LCCR 2050 plan aims to limit lost GDP growth to only 3.45 percent. A modest estimation as the number could be much higher assuming careful government intervention isn't administered in conjunction with the right private sector incentive. It's imperative that in the future, a collaborative effort is maintained across all stakeholders, public and private.

The SDG report serves as a wake-up call. While progress is evident, significant challenges remain. As young people, we must hold our leaders accountable, pushing for bolder action on climate change, inequality, and other critical issues.

Here's how we can contribute:

• Stay Informed: Educate ourselves about the SDGs and hold discussions with peers, families, and communities. Learn about the implementation of SDG beyond simply the notion and redirect from which these practices stem. This can be achieved through personal research, along with merely adding sustainability-focused information to your daily news feeds. EHS Daily Advisor and ESG Today are wonderful social media accounts with positive stories about reliant climate-focused news. You can also follow Fairatmos's social media account for detailed updates on the carbon credit spaces and upcoming carbon offset projects.  

• Demand Action: Engage with local representatives and decision-makers, urging them to prioritize sustainable policy for decades to come. Make sure your voting patterns and political affiliations reflect your commitment to the climate crisis.

• Support Sustainable Practices: Embrace eco-friendly choices in our daily lives. Slow, simple adoption is easier than you think and will make more of an impact than one considers. The climate crisis is created by corporations and requires a shift in the world's economic practices to remedy the problem, yet that doesn't mean consumers' habits, voting practices, and lifestyle choices aren't consequential to changing the climate's outcome. In fact, it's how individuals can push systematic leaders like governments and NGOs to make the required changes. 

The SDGs are not just lofty aspirations but a roadmap to a more just and equitable world. By holding ourselves and our leaders accountable, we can ensure Indonesia stays on track to achieve these crucial goals, leaving no one behind. To learn more about how Fairatmos upholds SDG principles and weaves them into our projects along with partners' projects, read our articles linked in the Insights tab.

About the Author

Talitha Untono, CEO Office intern at Fairatmos is an emerging advocate for climate change awareness. Her passion for environmental sustainability was sparked by a growing concern over the mounting issues of plastic waste and other unsustainable practices. This concern, combined with her love for writing and share environmental news on her LinkedIn has inspired her to explore the impacts of climate change and seek solutions.

About Fairatmos

Fairatmos is a climate technology company that helps you to discover, develop and deliver high quality carbon offset projects at scale. We believe in the power of nature to heal and remove greenhouse gasses from our atmosphere with the help of technology.

Our technology leverages remote sensing and satellite images to help communities and companies to discover their forest carbon credit potential, converting them from logging the forest to preserving and rehabilitating the forest confidently. 

With high precision monitoring technology, we help to track carbon project performance and integrity, ensuring the social impact and biodiversity preservation. With confidence in integrity, we connect carbon offsetting companies to quality projects. 

Today we have worked with more than 200 asset owners, processing more than 18M hectares of forest carbon potential across South East Asia to deliver the promise of inclusivity.

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