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REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Carbon trading has become one of the issues that has been hotly debated recently. This effort should provide a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through management of the economic value of carbon.

However, according to Bustar Maitar, founder and CEO of EcoNusa, carbon trading is not a solution to climate change. The reason is that carbon trading is only a temporary, short-term solution, not a permanent solution.

“What you need to do is cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly, by anyone, especially in developed countries, so that we can prevent our temperature increase from exceeding 1.5 degrees. “This commitment, which does not yet exist, has not happened,” Bustar said in an interview with Republic at the Eco Nusa office, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Thursday (05/10/2023).

Bustar admitted he was concerned that carbon trading was an activity far from climate change goals. Therefore, according to him, there should be a commitment to climate change used as the main basis in various discussions and realizations of carbon trading.

“If climate change had become the basis of carbon trading, people wouldn’t think too much about how to profit from it,” he stressed.

Speaking about carbon trading, he also highlighted the importance of placing society itself as the beneficiary of carbon. Carbon should not be seen as just an ordinary commodity like palm oil, rubber or the like. Carbon, Bustar said, is something that must actually contribute and even bring major benefits to society.

“Because if, for example, like this, people are selling carbon per ton for $5, how much of that $5 goes back to the community? It could be less than $1, of which $4 will go to the company. NOW It is No RIGHT. “We need to ensure that society reaps the main benefits,” Bustar said.

According to Bustar, carbon trading must also prioritize the integrity of the forest itself. Because in forests, it is not only a question of carbon, there are also issues of biodiversity, social development, sustainable development and others.

“We must therefore approach the issue holistically, and not limit ourselves to carbon,” he stressed.

In addition to forest integrity, Indonesia as a country must also demonstrate integrity in carbon trading. This means that carbon trading should be seen as part of Indonesia’s emissions reduction efforts.

“For example, there is a Canadian company that continues to buy carbon from Indonesia, then asks to register it in Canada, which cannot be done, while Canada continues to produce emissions,” stressed Bustar.