EduAsiaNews, Antalya Turkiye – Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry is pushing to strengthen legal certainty and business confidence in high-integrity carbon trading to expand climate financing. The call was made by Laksmi Wijayanti, director general of sustainable forest management at the ministry, at the launch of a report titled “Unlocking Demand in Voluntary Carbon Markets through Safe Harbour Mechanisms: A Recommendation to Governments” at the Indonesia Pavilion during the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya on Saturday.
The report, developed by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) together with the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, introduces a safe harbor approach, a conditional legal protection mechanism for companies that use high-quality carbon credits and make climate claims responsibly. The approach is aimed at reducing legal uncertainty and reputational risk, which have long been among the obstacles to higher demand for carbon credits.
In her remarks, Laksmi expressed appreciation to the coalition and IETA for developing the initiative. According to her, carbon markets have great potential to mobilize private funding for climate action, but their growth cannot rely solely on the availability of carbon credits.
“Carbon markets have enormous potential to mobilize private financing for climate action. However, their growth requires more than an adequate supply of carbon credits. Buyer confidence, legal certainty and assurance of the environmental integrity of carbon credits and the credibility of corporate climate claims are needed,” Laksmi said.
Laksmi explained that companies are increasingly facing legal and reputational risks when purchasing carbon credits and communicating their use as part of climate action. Such uncertainty can hold back investment, including in high-quality carbon projects that have met environmental requirements.
