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February 25, 2025 | 11:05 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Environmental organization Greenpeace has called on newly elected leaders in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) areas to immediately tackle five critical climate and environmental issues affecting the region.
Greenpeace Indonesia's Social and Economic Campaigner, Jeanny Sirait, emphasized that these problems have a significant impact on the comfort and economy of the area.
"These five climate and environmental challenges must be a priority for the new regional leaders in Jabodetabek: air pollution, floods and droughts, the lack of green open spaces, rising sea levels, and the urban heat island effect," she said in a statement on Monday, February 24, 2025.
Jeanny pointed out that air pollution continues to be a major issue in Jabodetabek in 2024. At the beginning of the year, some areas were found to have "unhealthy" air quality.
One of the main sources of air pollution, according to Jeanny, comes from coal-fired power plants. The issue, involving inter-regional policies, remains unresolved due to a lack of political coordination between local governments.
"Air pollution is estimated to cause 2,500 premature deaths and result in economic losses of Rp5.1 trillion annually in Jabodetabek area," she added.
She also highlighted the connection between air pollution and the shortage of green open spaces (RTH). In Jakarta, as of 2023, RTH covered only 5.2% of the city’s total area, while South Tangerang had just 8.5%. Both areas fall far short of the ideal standard of 30%.
"Green spaces help absorb carbon dioxide, and open land functions as water retention areas that are crucial during both the rainy and dry seasons," said Jeanny.
Another contributing factor, according to Jeanny, is the rapid urban development and the unplanned conversion of vegetation land into property, which worsens the urban heat island effect and increases the city's temperature by 3-6°C compared to rural areas.
Jeanny also explained that the climate crisis has led to extreme weather patterns, with flooding during heavy rainfall and droughts during long dry spells. Floods in Jakarta cause an estimated loss of Rp2.1 trillion annually.
Meanwhile, droughts during dry seasons cause significant losses for farmers in Bekasi, reaching millions of rupiah, and increase the financial burden on lower-income residents who must buy clean water at prices ranging from Rp5,000 to Rp10,000 per jerry can.
Additionally, Jeanny noted that Jabodetabek, being largely coastal, is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, which could submerge coastal areas and small islands due to tidal flooding and erosion. These phenomena also threaten infrastructure and the livelihoods of people living in coastal areas.
As for land subsidence, Jeanny revealed that Jakarta is sinking by an average of 5 centimeters per year, with some coastal areas sinking by up to 8.47 centimeters annually. The Thousand Islands are particularly at risk, with the rising sea level eroding more than 42 hectares of land on Pari Island, and parts of the area may soon be submerged.
"These issues exacerbate social vulnerability, deepen poverty, and worsen social and economic inequalities in Jabodetabek," said Jeanny.
She also emphasized that the most vulnerable groups in Jabodetabek, including the poor and the middle class, are most likely to suffer the worst impacts due to their limited capacity to adapt and mitigate the climate crisis. Local leaders play a crucial role in addressing these issues to promote social well-being through urban climate resilience and justice.
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