State Palace, Jakarta, 12-9-2008

Statement at a Video Conference with Troika Leaders, PM of Poland, PM of Denmark, and The UN Secretary General

 

STATEMENT
PRESIDENT SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
AT A VIDEOCONFERENCE WITH TROIKA LEADERS, PRIME MINISTER OF POLAND H.E. DONALD TUSK
and PRIME MINISTER OF DENMARK H.E. ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN,
and THE UN SECRETARY GENERAL H.E. BAN KI-MOON

12 SEPTEMBER 2008



Thank you Mr. Secretary-General for this opportunity, and for arranging this video conference. Hello also to Prime Minister Tusk and Prime Minister Rasmussen. It’s very nice to see you.

Excellencies, last December in Bali, after a dramatic cliff-hanger, we injected a new momentum into global climate change process by recognizing the need for deep cuts in global emission. We also launched a comprehensive process through long-term cooperative action which we hope will lead to an agreement by COP-15 in 2009, by addressing a shared vision and four elements of the Bali Action Plan.

Overall, we are seeing encouraging signs at the political level outside of the UNFCCC process. The G-8 in Hokkaido Toyako Summit agreed to consider and adopt at least a 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050, although without specific base-year. In the US, the two presidential contenders have expressed their intentions to seriously address climate change. The Major Economies Meeting affirmed their commitment for more serious action. Countries like China, South Korea, India and other major economies, including Indonesia, have already established national climate strategies. The private sector is also becoming very active on climate change issues, and is eager to be part of the solution. We must make sure that all these lead to a global consensus on post-2012 framework under the UNFCCC.

Since Bali, we have had a series of constructive discussions in Bangkok, Bonn, and Accra. These discussions have been valuable in maintaining momentum and advancing the Bali Road Map, but now we must shift to a higher gear. And this also means we must intensify the coordination between the UN Secretary-General and the Troika Leaders to support the negotiation process under UNFCCC.

We must ensure that the climate change process remains on track and on time, with concrete progress in Poznan this December. The Bali experience is a good reminder of the enormous difficulties in bridging gaps between the various positions as they lay their cards on the table. What happens between now and Poznan is as important as what happens IN Poznan. The key to success lies in good preparation, communication and leadership. We must ensure that Poznan will have plenty of them.

Excellencies,
The Troika Leaders and the UN Secretary-General have an important role to ensure the success of climate change negotiations. Once the negotiations begin in January 2009, there will only be four rounds including the COP-15 in Copenhagen, and that new global consensus will not be easy to come by. The role of international Leaders will be critical to break deadlocks and push for breakthroughs. The UN Secretary-General and the Troika Leaders can coordinate their efforts in making sure the Leaders are involved, especially in the crucial phases of the negotiations.

I would suggest that, prior to Poznan, we consider writing a joint article by the UN Secretary-General and the Troika Leaders. This joint article can be published in an international publication and also in the media outlets of the key countries.

The Troika Leaders and the UN Secretary-General could also embark on areas of concrete cooperation which could be announced during the Poznan or Copenhagen meeting. These areas of cooperation could encompass strategic issues such as financing, technology or reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries.

The Troika Leaders and the UN Secretary-General also need to utilize major international summits and gatherings to maintain regular contacts. The Asia-Europe Meeting which will take place in Beijing in October this year, is only one example where the Troika Leaders and the UN Secretary-General can continue their discussions.

Excellencies, the Poznan Meeting will be a good opportunity to take stock of what have been achieved after we adopted the Bali Action Plan last year. In Poznan, after reviewing the progress, we will need to determine the follow-up course of action in the year 2009.

Poznan will be the last meeting before actual negotiations take place. Thus, an early agreement on “shared vision” will be useful to guide parties to agree on long-term, medium-term, and short-term reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Developed Countries must take the lead in securing the stabilization of greenhouse gases and ensuring no delay on the second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol. In this regard, we also need to push harder to agree on deeper cut in global emissions as well as a medium term vision for 2020.

We also need to see a clear political willingness from developed countries to agree on financial architecture and transfer of technology issues. This will enable developing countries to do more, in their capacity and their national circumstances, in curbing their emissions. Developed countries also need to scale up their stated commitment to enable developing countries’ efforts to put in place national mitigation efforts and adaptation plans to build low carbon, climate resilient economies.

We should continue our previous efforts in bringing the issue of climate change to the attention of our trade and finance ministers. Global financial and trade system are important to overcome effectively the current climate crisis.

In this regard, it is worth to consider positively to convene the second Trade Ministers Dialogue on Climate Change as well as the second High Level Event on Climate Change for Finance Ministers.

Demonstration activities in the areas of financing, technology and forest among the Troika countries will be a good example of how developed and developing countries cooperate in tackling the global challenge. As an example, Indonesia have established partnerships with Australia and Germany such as the Indonesia – Australia Forest Carbon Partnership and the Indonesia – German Cooperation on Forest and Climate. These projects are designed to improve Indonesia forest management and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These are models of a constructive partnership between a developed and developing country that can be replicated in the Troika cooperation.

Thank you, Excellencies. I look forward to your comments.


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