Low carbon development: a paradigm shift towards a green economy in Indonesia

With every tree felled and every piece of coal burned for energy, Indonesia is inching closer to its ecological tipping point. And once it passes that point, the country’s economy will greatly suffer, leading to an increase in poverty, a higher mortality rate and lower human development. That’s the conclusion of a new government-sanctioned report, titled “Low Carbon Development: A Paradigm Shift Towards a Green Economy in Indonesia,” which paints a grim picture of Indonesia’s future should it continue with its current development model. But the report also asserts that Indonesia can have a much different future — one where its citizens are as wealthy as those of the Netherlands or Germany today — if it transitions to a low-carbon economic model.