ASIATODAY.ID, VIANTIANE – Coordinating Minister for the Indonesian Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, invited all ASEAN member countries to unite in responding to global sustainability policies which tend to be discriminatory.
Airlangga conveyed this at the 24th ASEAN Economic Community Council – AECC Ministerial Meeting, on Monday, October 7 2024.
The AECC Ministerial Meeting in the 2024 Laos Chairmanship discussed the Sustainability Agenda as an important issue.
In the midst of increasing global attention to the impact of the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which has the potential to disrupt manufacturing production and hamper trade in wood, plant and plantation-based products, Indonesia continues to strive to build networks and gather support.
The implementation of the EUDR itself will be postponed until 2026 from the original schedule which was to take effect at the end of December 2024. Indonesia objected because the implementation of this regulation uses forest condition data that is not relevant to factual conditions, but is their own version.
From ASEAN, Indonesia and Malaysia proposed a joint Task Force with the European Union to share open geospatial data as a basis for EUDR rules. Apart from these two countries, international partners including the United States and Germany also objected.
The sustainability agenda cannot be separated from ASEAN’s attention. The ASEAN Secretariat together with member countries have prepared 5 priority outputs for the ASEAN sustainability agenda, including Implementation of the Circular Economy Framework, Operationalization of the Carbon Neutrality Strategy, Guidelines for Sustainable Investment Development, Action Plan for Sustainable Agriculture, and Implementation of the Blue Economy Framework.
“On this occasion, I invite all ASEAN member countries to be united and pro-active in responding in a measurable manner to discriminatory world sustainability policies such as the EUDR, because they have a negative impact on the economy and the lives of many people,” stressed Airlangga when delivering his intervention at the AECC Ministerial Meeting.
Furthermore, Airlangga hopes for joint steps from ASEAN to strengthen its strategic position and input through various dialogue channels with important ASEAN partners.
Airlangga also emphasized that the implementation of ASEAN’s sustainability policy agenda must be more pragmatic, by inviting all relevant parties to increase their capacity and capabilities.
Meanwhile, the 24th AECC Ministerial Meeting was chaired by the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Laos and attended by 8 Ministers and 2 Ministerial representatives, as well as 1 Minister of Timor-Leste. (ATN)
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