The deteriorating air quality in DKI Jakarta has spurred swift government action to combat this pressing concern. In the latest development, Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) has delivered a series of crucial recommendations to the government aimed at addressing air pollution issues.
Vice Chairman of Commission VII DPR RI, Eddy Soeparno, expounded upon these recommendations, emphasizing their relevance to the urgency of transitioning and converting energy sources from coal to natural gas for the many active power plants. He also underscored the importance of a vigorous promotion of electric vehicles, spanning motorcycles and automobiles, with a call for more appealing incentives to accelerate their adoption.
A noteworthy point raised by Soeparno pertains to the adoption of clean energy sources, not solely reliant on natural gas but also extending to waste-to-energy solutions. This multifaceted approach is motivated by the sobering fact that, on average, emissions contribute to the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from landfill sites.
“So, the management of waste should pivot towards transforming it into a viable source of electricity generation. Furthermore, we must exert more stringent control over Steam Power Plants, facilitating their early retirement in alignment with the ongoing energy transition,” he articulated, as documented by Bisnis on Tuesday (29/8/2023).
Simultaneously, Commission IX of DPR RI has received a proposal advocating the formation of a dedicated committee (Pansus) with the mandate to devise comprehensive strategies for mitigating air pollution issues.
This issue looms large, particularly in the Jabodetabek metropolitan area and its environs. By engaging stakeholders across various sectors, it is envisioned that this collaborative approach will yield policies with a more extensive reach and impact in tackling the multifaceted challenges posed by air pollution.
The proposal to establish Pansus has emerged following a collaborative meeting between the Central Board of the Indonesian Pulmonologist Association (PDPI) and Commission IX DPR RI. During this pivotal meeting, the entire body of PDPI’s medical professionals reached a unanimous consensus that effective solutions to air pollution require a multifaceted, cross-sectoral approach.
In the course of their engagement with DPR, PDPI presented a comprehensive body of data elucidating the manifold impacts of air pollution. Their perspective emphasizes that the challenge of addressing air pollution goes beyond immediate remedies; it necessitates the development of proactive measures that minimize the emission of air pollutants.
Importantly, PDPI underscored that the deterioration in air quality isn’t solely attributable to a single factor, such as vehicular emissions. It also implicates the contributions of power plants and industrial facilities that rely on coal as their primary fuel source.
Furthermore, the act of smoking and the resulting cigarette smoke are identified as significant contributors to air pollutants, which, in turn, have deleterious effects on public health. In light of these complex interconnections, Charles, a representative from PDPI, emphasized that a collaborative, cross-sectoral effort is indispensable in effectively addressing these multifaceted air quality challenges.
