Jakarta – Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo promised to commit to reducing extractive industries in East Kalimantan, during his campaign in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday.
He asserted that environmentally friendly green energy should be used to replace the industry's current energy demand.
The former Central Java governor said he would progressively prepare the country to transition to renewable energy if he were elected president of Indonesia.
"We will gear up for the energy transition to gradually reduce extraction. This way, it will not add more to the [environmental] damage," said Ganjar, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Ganjar said the current extractive patterns must follow new methods to protect the area's environment.
"It requires technology, good human resources and sorting which [areas] we should continue extracting and which ones we should prepare for the transition," he added.
Ganjar also mentioned that he would reassess the large industries operating in East Kalimantan because the presence of illegal industries in the province had led to environmental problems becoming more chaotic.
"Usually, the problem is caused by illegal [operations]. If they are legal, the process will be smooth, whether it is through the AMDAL [Environmental Impact Analysis] or routine control," said Ganjar.
During the same event, Ganjar noted that public knowledge on climate change was still lacking and proposed that education on the topic should be given to students from an early age.
"The middle to lower economic class already understand what a green economy and blue economy are. This new knowledge needs to be familiarized downward," he said.
To this end, Ganjar also proposed including education on climate change into the national curriculum should he win his presidential bid, with the goal of educating people on climate change from a younger age.