Wildfire emissions may cause Indonesia to miss climate target
Greenhouse gas emitted from forest and peatland fires across Indonesia has reached the same amount of 74 coal-fired power plants, potentially hurting the country’s “net sink” aim in the forestry sector by 2030.
Forest and peatland fires in Indonesia have emitted greenhouse gases equivalent to the output of 74 coal-fired power plants, potentially jeopardizing the country's goal of acting as a "net sink" in the forestry sector by 2030. This year's wildfires have reached unprecedented levels, with emissions soaring to 76.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide, nearly one-third of the global total.
The fires, which have scorched nearly 900,000 hectares of land across Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Papua, have also produced toxic haze that has spread as far as the Philippines. Though the emissions are slightly lower than in 2015, when the country experienced severe destructive fire seasons, they still surpass the levels recorded in 2019.
As air quality deteriorates across the region, experts urge the Indonesian government to implement aggressive climate mitigation measures to prevent missing its national climate target.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
