Gembong Hanung, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration has committed to finalizing a 20-year air quality control and protection road map this year, aimed at establishing a regulatory framework to curb pollution and support the city's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050

Speaking at a town hall meeting in South Jakarta on Tuesday, Governor Pramono Anung said that a long-term road map covering the 2025-2045 period was currently being drafted.

The road map, to be issued as a gubernatorial decree, would replace a 2005 bylaw on air pollution control, which introduced initiatives such as vehicle emissions testing and car-free day events.

The prevailing regulation, Pramono argued, was no longer adequate to address the capital's increasingly complex pollution challenges.

Beyond emissions from more than 25 million vehicles operating in Jakarta, he cited major pollution sources in surrounding buffer cities, including coal-fired power plants, dust from expanding construction projects and open waste burning.

"We are ensuring that the policies being formulated are not fragmented but interconnected and mutually reinforcing. This is essential for sustainable air pollution control," the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said in a statement.

The forthcoming regulation will also introduce new elements, including an air pollution early warning system and stronger public health protections, Pramono added.

On Wednesday morning, Jakarta's concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reached 42 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m), ranking it as the world's fourth-most polluted city, according to Swiss technology firm IQAir.

The PM2.5 level was more than eight times higher than the safety threshold set by the World Health Organization.

In 2025 alone, the city recorded at least 2 million cases of respiratory illness, a figure widely linked to the city's persistently poor air quality.

The Jakarta Environment Agency has said the road map will prioritize vulnerable sections of the population and be integrated with the city's broader climate action plan.

Jakarta aims to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050, a decade earlier than the national target.

However, the agency's latest assessment shows the city emitted 63 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2023, the highest level since 2010.

This figure represents all greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, converted into the equivalent impact of CO2, highlighting Jakarta's growing contribution to global warming.

Wibi Andrino, deputy chairman of Jakarta City Council, pushed for the upcoming regulation to prioritize public health, tighten emissions control and impose stricter penalties on violators, Kompas.com reported.

Source: https://asianews.network/jakarta-accelerates-air-quality-roadmap-as-pollution-worsens