The Indonesian government has collaborated with the UK Government to develop low carbon transportation in the country in a program called ‘Future Cities: UK-Indonesia Low Carbon Partnership’.
The signing of this program’s Implementing Agreement is the first step of the commitment of both parties to mitigate the impacts of climate change through the development of environmentally friendly urban public transportation.
Previously, the signing of the agreement to start the cooperation was carried out by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Transportation Novie Riyanto and the British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins.
The Director General of Land Transportation, Hendro Sugiatno, said that the signing was a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed by the Indonesian Minister of Transportation (Menhub), Budi Karya Sumadi, with the British Minister of Transportation, Wendy Morton MP, in June 2022.
“The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Transportation welcomes the implementation of this cooperation program, which is expected to help develop a sustainable and environmentally friendly urban transportation system in Indonesia,” he said in his official statement, Wednesday (6/7/2022).
Hendro said that efforts to improve the quality of transportation are in line with efforts to increase economic growth and mitigate the impact of climate change.
According to him, in the 2020-2024 RPJMN, the Ministry of Transportation has the task not only to improve urban connectivity through the provision of mass public transportation, but also to contribute to reducing emissions (decarbonization) in the transportation sector.
“We are currently developing a number of urban mass public transportation, both in the form of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and in the rail-based rail sector, which are integrated and also use electrical energy,” he explained.
“Through this collaboration, it is hoped that these efforts can be carried out in a more measurable, structured, accelerated and more reliable manner in planning and implementing a sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation system,” added Hendro Sugianto.
British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Owen Jenkins welcomed this collaboration.
According to him, partnerships in the transportation sector are very important, so that they are more confident in carrying out the commitments from the Glasgow conference and also in realizing the transition to zero emission vehicles.
“We are trying to enforce the Paris Agreement to suppress the increase in the earth’s temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and trying to carry out decarbonization in the transportation sector because 25% of GHG emissions are generated from the transportation sector,” he said.
The British government through the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition (UK PACT) provided funding support of £9 million for the development of environmentally friendly urban transportation in a number of provinces in Indonesia, namely: North Sumatra, DKI Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java. , and South Sulawesi.
Through this program, the two countries jointly want to seize great opportunities such as: the development of roadmaps for efficient electrification of public transport, the integration of climate-friendly solutions into national and local development planning, and the design of low-carbon transportation projects that are capable of attracting investment.
The five projects in the Future Cities program include the integration of LRT transit-oriented development and land value capture in Metropolitan Semarang and the transition to inclusive low-carbon transportation through improving safety aspects for the vulnerable.
Then the project also involves strengthening sustainable urban transportation in coastal cities, decarbonizing inclusive transportation in Indonesia and accelerating clean mobility for the Jakarta metropolitan area.
