Jakarta, Indonesia, December 11, 2024 – As a follow-up step after the 29^th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Indonesia participated in a coordination meeting hosted by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MoMAF) in Jakarta. The meeting objective was to discuss strategic steps in integrating ocean and climate issues into national policies.

At the meeting, the Ministry’s Director of Coastal and Small Islands Empowerment, Muhammad Yusuf, emphasized the need to strengthen the blue carbon policy through ecosystem inventory and its integration into the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). “With this, Indonesia could encourage ocean and climate issues advocacy in global forums to deal with the climate crisis,” added Yusuf.

GGGI has been supporting the Government of Indonesia in integrating blue carbon ecosystems into the country’s NDC, or climate commitment. More recently, GGGI supported MoMAF in hosting a side event at the Indonesia Pavilion of COP29, titled NDC 3.0: Early Mover for Ocean-Based Climate Actions. MoMAF and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) highlighted Indonesia’s vision to drive its climate ambition according to its Enhanced NDC by tapping into uncharted territories such as the blue carbon sector. Blue carbon is carbon sequestered and stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses.

“These ecosystems play a pivotal role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and providing essential services beyond carbon benefits, such as coastal protection, habitat for biodiversity, and livelihoods for local communities. I hope we can optimize our blue carbon ecosystems and their relation to the NDC,” said Dr. Hendra Yusran Siry, Senior Adviser to the Minister on Ecology and Marine Resources at the MoMAF.

Despite possessing 24% of the world’s total mangrove area[1], Indonesia has yet to utilize the full potential of mangroves and seagrasses in its climate mitigation efforts. To effectively integrate blue carbon into the NDC, the country needs a realistic and comprehensive Blue Carbon Roadmap to bridge the initial motivation and actual implementation within the commitment. This roadmap would encompass policies, strategies, regulations, and guidelines for conserving, managing, and utilizing blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves and seagrasses.

Yulia Suryanti, Director of Climate Change Mitigation of the MoEF, said that through this event, the country hopes to explore opportunities and challenges associated with identifying and implementing ocean-based mitigation actions. “We hope that we can fuel and fire up our collective goals to tackle climate change by implementing climate change mitigation actions in the ocean sector,” she added.

Indonesia and other countries of the Friends of the Ocean and Climate network also issued a joint statement at COP29. The statement highlights the threat of the climate crisis to the oceans and how a climate change dialogue becomes a strategic step for marine ecosystem protection, as well as the importance of funding for ocean-based climate actions.