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Indonesian activists push for legally binding results

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Indonesian environmentalists on Thursday called for legally binding results from the 18th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNCCC) in Qatar's capital of Doha, urging Indonesian negotiators to do their best in achieving such result.

"This is a good opportunity to pursue a legally binding convention," Avi Mahanigntyas, an activist of the environmentalist group of Kemitraan, told Xinhua.

She said Indonesian negotiators face hard task at the high- profile climate change meeting as developed countries were apparently reluctant to comply with binding obligation after Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expires at the end of this year.

The 18 UNCCC is scheduled to end on Dec. 10.

Indonesian delegation is tasked to lobby other delegations with an aim to extend the commitment period of Kyoto Protocol.

Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European Union to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has initiated a bold move in addressing climate change by pledging to cut emission by 26 percent on Business As Usual (BAU) basis and 41 percent with foreign assistance by 2020. The efforts would be exerted in reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) scheme. The pledge was made by the president at the G20 meeting held in Pittsburgh, the United States in Sept. 2009.

The pledge was highly praised by international community. Norway pledged 1 billion U.S. dollars to assist Indonesia in carrying out its emission reduction job.

President Yudhoyono said in 2011 that he would dedicate his last three years in office to deliver enduring results that will sustain and enhance the environment and forest of Indonesia.