UN issues first green certificate for RI

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/25/2008 11:20 AM 

After two years, the United Nations has issued the first saleable "certificates of emissions reduction" (CERs) to Indonesia's publicly listed cement maker, PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk. 

The UN executive board on climate change issued a total of 17,635 CERs to Indocement's alternative fuel projects on March 14. 

"It is good news for Indonesia. Hopefully, more companies will be encouraged to switch to greener projects to tap into cash from the carbon trade scheme," Prasetyadi Utomo, secretary of Indonesia's designated national authority (DNA) on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) told The Jakarta Post on Monday. 

Under the CDM, projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development can earn saleable CERs. 

Countries with an emissions reduction or limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol can use the CERs to meet part of their obligations under the protocol. 

The certificates can be traded to 36 highly industrialized nations which have legally binding emissions limitation and reduction commitments. A CER currently sells for between 13 and 15 euros. 

The UN will also issue 23,474 CERs to PT Indotirta Suaka Bulan Farm on Tuesday. The company's project, located on Bulan Island near Batam, involves methane capture and combustion from swine manure and is expected to cut 166,000 tons of emissions per year. 

Prasetyahadi said the UN had informed Indonesian environmental officials of a plan to issue another 63,332 CERs to Indocement on Wednesday. 

DNA data shows PT Indocement registered two projects that reduce emissions through the use of alternative fuels such as biomass, rice husks, sawdust and used tires. 

The projects were developed in cooperation with the World Bank. 

The issued CERs are transferred electronically from the CDM Registry through an international transaction log, administered by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, to national emissions registries. 

As of March 1, the UN had issued CERs to 306 projects, mostly in China and India, totaling 126.6 million CERs. 

The CDM is expected to generate more than 2.6 billion CERs by the time the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. 

The UN has said there are currently more than 948 registered CDM projects in 50 developing countries, and another 2,000 projects in the registration pipeline. 

The government has so far approved 47 CDM projects, of which half were registered this year following the UN climate change conference in Bali. 

Among the approved projects are a fuel switching project conducted by PT Asahimas Flat Glass Tbk at its flat glass manufacturing facility in Sidoarjo, PT Gikoko Kogyo Indonesia's gas flaring project in Palembang and a waste recovery project in Ubud, Bali.