JAKARTA: Indonesia, the world’s top producer of palm oil, said that its development agenda must take precedence over the need to combat deforestation, tempering expectations around the nation’s climate change commitments.

       “The massive development of President Jokowi’s era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions, or in the name of deforestation,” Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar posted on her Twitter account, referring to the South-East Asian nation’s head of state Joko Widodo.

       The 100-nation pledge to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 “should not be interpreted as zero deforestation,” which would be “inappropriate and unfair” to Indonesia, she said.

       Indonesia, one of the 100 countries that signed the initiative, is instead committed to controlling emissions from forestry and land use to achieve carbon neutrality.

       Forests are part of Indonesia’s “natural wealth” and must be managed for its benefit, while observing principles of sustainability, said the minister.

       In addition to the country’s behemoth palm oil industry, the government also needs to make way for infrastructure that will connect over 34,000 villages located in forested areas and surrounds.

       “The President’s directive to me is very clear, that we can deliver what we promise, that it isn’t just rhetoric, because we are responsible to our own people,” Bakar said. — Bloomberg