Yogyakarta, September 27th 2022—The Department of Politics and Government (DPP) FISIPOL UGM held a public lecture entitled “Europe’s Energy Crisis, Global Climate Commitment Challenges: Views from Norway and Indonesia” which was held in a hybrid way at the Auditorium Mandiri of FISIPOL UGM and via the Zoom platform on Tuesday (27/9). The public lecture presented four speakers, they were H.E. Rut Kruger Giverin, Ambassador of Norway to Indonesia as a keynote speaker and three other speakers; Angga Kurnia Imban, Project Manager of Hydropower Solutions; Putra Adhiguna, Energy Economics & Policy Specialist Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis; and Raras Cahya Fitri, Lecturer in Department of International Relations FISIPOL UGM.
Rut Kruger started the conversation with her presentation entitled “The Effects of the European Energy Crisis on Global Climate Commitments – A View from Norway”. The tense situation in Russia has an impact on a global level, especially since Russia is one of the largest oil exporters for many countries, including Indonesia.
“Countries will turn to anything that can ensure energy security, including coal energy with high carbon emissions,” said Rut Kruger. According to her, this could threaten energy stability and global commitments agreed to in the Paris Agreement. However, on the other hand, rising oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis have also prompted many companies to produce and deploy renewable energy at relatively affordable prices.
In addition to energy, Rut Kruger also touched on the issue of deforestation in Indonesia, especially because Indonesia has a very large forest area. This will not only affect Indonesia but also collectively to reduce carbon emissions in the world. Therefore, forest conservation and reducing deforestation are very important. “Norway has been Indonesia’s partner for a long time in forest conservation efforts,” explains Rut Kruger.
Rut Kruger added that recently, Indonesia and Norway have agreed on a partnership on climate and forest issues. “Through this collaboration, Norway will support Indonesia in reducing deforestation,” said Rut Kruger.