Beijing, China, 25-10-2008

Speech On Climate Change at 3rd Closed Session Discussion The 7th ASEM Summit

 

SPEECH ON CLIMATE CHANGE

H.E. DR. H. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

3rd CLOSED SESSION DISCUSSION
“DRIVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”
AT THE 7th ASEM SUMMIT

BEIJING, 25 OKTOBER 2008




<i>Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Assalamu’alaikum Wr Wb</i>

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,

I am pleased to share my views on how we could work together to more effectively deal with climate change, and making the climate change conference in Poznan and in Copenhagen a success.

But as I did not get the opportunity to speak yesterday, allow me firstly to say a few words on our economic situation and sustainable development.

Let me make a few quick points on international economy and financial crisis.

Our meeting here in Beijing must lead to “enhanced cooperation” among ASEM countries, as part of a global solution that remains elusive.

And also our response must address the many layers of those who are affected. It must include the stabilization of the financial market. It must keep the real economy moving. And most importantly, it must protect the most vulnerable.

We can all do better if we improve international cooperation. Regional groupings such as ASEAN, East Asia, and European Community must engage in concerted actions—as the ASEAN Plus Three is doing with the acceleration of the Chiang Mai Initiative. Individual countries must also do their part by adopting policies consistent with these efforts. I believe that while we are here in Beijing, we keep maintaining our communication, and give direction to our Finance Minister and Governor of Central Bank or even private sector on how cope with this crisis back home.

In my view, there are several short-term tasks that we must achieve. First, is to restore confidence. Second, to stabilize the financial market. And third, to safeguard and reinvigorate the real economy.

However, our preoccupation with the financial crisis must not detract us from pursuing our global agenda. These are: Food security, Energy security, reaching MDGs targets by 2015, and completing the climate change framework by 2009 in Copenhagen as set-out in the Bali Road Map. In this connection, I call on the interna-tional financial institutions to proactively and actively support these efforts.

Our success in achieving these global agenda is critical to avoid the real danger : the peril of 2,3 billion people getting poorer, and sliding into greater deprivation.

Thus, when we do meet at the international economic summit in Washington DC on 15 November this year, we could ask the summit to address the following agenda: how to overcome the financial crisis in one or two years time; how to reform the financial architecture that is safe and properly functioning in the long run; and how to maintain the long-term stability and development of the world economy, taking into account the lessons learned from the crises of the past two decades.

Mr. Chairman,
We would be remiss to talk only of the financial crisis and how to recover from it. The financial crisis should not detract us from pursuing our climate change agenda. We must work together to advance the Bali Roadmap.

This is necessary because 10 months after the cliff-hanger adoption of the Bali Action Plan in December last year, we are still racing against time. There is yet no guarantee of a global consensus for post-2012 climate change frame-work by the time of COP-15 Copenhagen in 2009.

The situation calls upon us to press on based on the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities”. As a matter of urgency, there is no question that both the developed and developing countries must do more. Indonesia, as a developing country, has set up national target of emission reduction of 2025 and 2050. And with our limited budget, we are conducting aggressive aforestation and reforestation campaign.

But the developed countries—not the developing countries--still have to take the lead. And we must once more commit ourselves to putting together the building blocks of a new climate change regime, namely mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and financing.

The Poznan COP-14 Meeting December 2008 will be a good opportunity to contemplate what has been achieved since Bali. 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.

The second half of the negotiations in 2009 will absolutely pertinent to the success of COP-15 in Copenhagen. Here, it is critical that all leaders be actively engaged to ensure that we reach the last mile in Copenhagen. Yesterday, together with Prime Minister of Denmark and Prime Minister of Poland, we held a constructive video conference with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Troika leaders and the UN Secretary-General will closely work together in the coming months leading to Poznan and Copenhagen. We call on the leaders of Asia and Europe to do all you can to help step-up the momentum towards a global climate change consensus.

We need a better mechanism and stronger cooperation between developed and developing countries. Many developing countries want to achieve lower energy intensity without sacrificing their economic growth but they do not have access to technology and resources to do so. Here, we also need to do better on the issue of financial architecture of technology issues. And that is why this financial crisis must be solved to allow developing countries to be part of the climate change solution.

Finally, let me state the obvious that Europe and Asia are all in this together. Europe and Asia CAN work together in pushing for a breakthrough in ensuring the success of the global climate change process.

I thank you.