Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The environment ministry has warned Indonesia's emissions from the energy sector will continue to increase if oil and gas companies do not prevent their carbon from being released into the atmosphere.
The ministry's deputy for natural resource conservation and environmental control, Masnellyarti Hilman, said rising oil consumption could see emissions from the energy sector reach 2,878 million tons in 2050 from the forecast 977 million tons in 2025.
"If developing nations let this happen, the global target of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2050 will not be met, even if rich nations achieve their targets," Masnellyarti told a climate change seminar Wednesday.
About 100 representatives from geothermal, oil and gas companies attended the one-day seminar.
There are currently about 70 oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia. "But only two oil and gas firms have implemented the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to reduce carbon emissions," Masnellyarti said.
The two were identified as PT Odira Energy Persada in Bekasi, West Java, and PT Medco E&P Indonesia. Medco's CDM project aims to cut carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions by 1.9 million tons by 2014.
She said Chevron Geothermal Indonesia was the only geothermal company implementing the CDM to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 650,000 tons.
The CDM set in the Kyoto Protocol allows companies in developing nations to reduce emissions in various ways including by shifting to environmentally friendly energy sources.
Those who implement the project in turn receive financial incentives through Certified Emission Reduction (CER) sales. A CER is a credit issued for every ton of emissions reduced.
"The CDM project is a win-win solution for the company and the environment. The host will receive incentives for each ton of emissions reduced," she said.
As of 2003, Indonesia was responsible for about 258.7 million tons of emissions because of its heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy. Only 0.2 percent of energy in Indonesia comes from renewable sources.
The government has set a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector by about 30 percent by 2012 to address climate change.
A 2006 presidential decree on the national energy policy said use of renewable energy would reach 17 percent by 2025. According to the decree, Indonesia could cut CO2 emissions – the main contributor to global warming – by 17 percent by diversifying its energy sources.
Indonesia is not bound to the emission targets set under the Kyoto Protocol.
The government has said the implementation of carbon capture and storage technology could slash the country's emissions by up to 37 percent.
Carbon capture and storage is an approach to mitigating global warming where CO2 from large sources such as fossil fuel power plants is captured and stored in geological formations instead of being released into the atmosphere.
The International Energy Agency has forecast energy demand and prices will continue to soar, with the world expected to be using 60 percent more energy in 2030 than at present.
Use of renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and modern biomass, is increasing, with wind power the fastest-growing energy source in the world.