Desty Luthfiani, Jakarta – Acting Governor of Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono said that transportations are currently the biggest contributor to the worsening air quality in Jakarta.
"Around 50% (of air pollution) is caused by transportation," said Heru Budi after his performance evaluation in the Ministry for Home Affairs, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, August 10, 2023.
According to Heru Budi, Jakarta needs the cooperation of its neighboring regional governments of buffer cities to combat air pollution. "As strong as Jakarta is, there will always be pollution, so let's mitigate the problem together," he said.
Meanwhile, he said, cooperation does not negate the responsibility of Jakarta's provincial government on the matter. The provincial government has carried out attempts to reduce air pollution with electric buses, public transportation, and high-speed trains.
In addition, Heru and the government officials also plant trees every week to add more green spaces. "Every three months, each sub-district also creates more green spaces," he said.
The official website of IQAir reported on July 25, 2023, at 16:08 p.m., the air quality in Jakarta was unhealthy with 168 points. The number brought Jakarta as the city with the world's worst air quality, followed by Lahore City in Pakistan with 154 points and Dubai in UAE with 152 points.
The Clean Air Initiative Coalition (Koalisi IBUKOTA) highlights the increasingly worrying air quality in Jakarta. IBUKOTA slammed Heru Budi's statement on the situation. "Koalisi IBUKOTA also regrets and criticizes the Acting Governor's statement that trivializes the air pollution issue in Jakarta," Koalisi said in a written statement on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.