Indonesia stresses to address climate change, pursue green economy

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stressed Indonesia’s commitment to addressing climate change and pursuing green economy during a meeting with World Bank Group president Ajay Banga in Gandhinagar, India.

This is because green economy is the first pillar of national economic transformation.

“Indonesia responds positively to supports from many in implementing the Energy Transition Mechanism, particularly in putting coal-based power plants into early retirement,” she said, according to a statement received here on Thursday.

World Bank is also expected to support Indonesia in its endeavor, she added.

During the meeting, Indrawati outlined some efforts made by Indonesia to reform many sectors, for instance, the passage of regulations such as the Law on Financial Sector Development and Improvement, the Law on Central and Regional Government’s Financial Relation, and the Law on Tax Policy Harmonization.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the second day of the India-led 3rd ASEAN Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting-Working Group (AFCDM-WG), which kicked off on July 17.

On the second day, during the closing of the global-scale meeting, the G20 countries’ finance ministers and India’s central bank leader concluded some important discussions.

In the morning session of the meeting, there were some key discussions on the International Financial Architecture (IFA), such as support for vulnerable countries, improvement of multilateral development banks, as well as support from multilateral development banks and private sector to address current issues, the state treasurer said.

According to Indrawati, Indonesia and its Energy Transition Mechanism can serve as a testing ground to see the performance and involvement of multilateral development banks and private sector players.

The discussions in the afternoon session covered international taxes.

Indrawati commended the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 for their hard work in formulating the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework, which aims to maintain the basis of each country’s taxes and prevent tax evasion.

At the end of the meeting, she also discussed the financial sector and financial inclusion, which Indonesia has taken part in by monitoring crypto assets and global stablecoins.