Reducing Carbon Emissions, Pupuk Kaltim Plants 23,272 Trees Throughout 2022

The warming of the earth’s temperature and its effect on the environment has been a big focus of the Indonesian government. Currently, they are tackling the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of zero emissions by 2060 or earlier. The goal was restated by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland last November. He said that the government, along with its entities, is on track to reducing its carbon emissions and meeting its goals. 

The bigger goal of reducing emissions is to reduce the greenhouse effect that causes the rising of the earth’s temperature. The greenhouse effect is the natural warming of the earth that results when gasses in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun. According to the Natural Resources Defence Council on its base, the greenhouse effect is a good thing, it naturally warms the earth by absorbing solar energy from the sun and letting that energy be absorbed by land, oceans, and the atmosphere. Without it, the earth might be a cold inhabitable place. But with the rapid rise of population and technology, so is the number of greenhouse gasses trapped in the atmosphere. These rapid rises, without a proper mitigating effort, lead to a rise in temperature that affects the earth’s climate and the overall health of the environment.

Carbon Monoxide is the largest greenhouse gas contributor and its effects

Greenhouse gasses or gas that trap heat in the atmosphere include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and fluorinated gasses, with carbon dioxide (CO2) amounting the most compared to others. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, carbon dioxide accounts for about 76 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. This high percentage is due to activities such as heating and cooling, transportation, manufacturing, and other activities that require the use of energy. Especially since most of the world’s energy still comes from burning fossil fuels. 

These gasses are released into the atmosphere by the millions each year and reach an all-time high in 2019. Making the effects of greenhouse effects on the earth’s climate even direr. The term climate change is used by scientists to describe the complex shift, driven by greenhouse gas concentrations, that is now affecting the earth’s weather and climate systems. It includes not only the rising average temperature or what is usually called global warming but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, rising seas, and a range of other impacts.

Reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses will require efforts from virtually every sector of the global economy, from agriculture to transportation to manufacturing and power production. Each of these sectors contributes greatly to the release of carbon into the atmosphere. A change in these sectors day to day activities means shifting their energy source from fossil fuels to renewable energy, boosting energy efficiency, and other simple efforts of reducing carbon like planting trees and conserving existing forests and grasslands. 

The Indonesian government has since pushed its entities to be environmentally forward, from inducement for electric vehicles to using solar panels to reduce the use of fossil fuels. One of the state-owned companies, Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (Kaltim), has been one of the companies that made big changes to their day-to-day activities and implemented programs that help reduce carbon in response to the government’s big goals of zero net emissions. 

Pupuk Kaltim planting program plants 23,272 trees throughout 20222

As a pioneer of green transformation in the petrochemical field, Pupuk Kaltim has been churning program after program that puts the effort into reducing carbon and putting the health of the environment first. Recently the company has just announced that they have planted 23,272 trees throughout 2022.

The company has planted the trees in 6 different locations, two of which are ex-mining lands. The location is Ciemas Village, Sukabumi; Love Park, Bontang City; Tropical Orchard-1 PKT; Maratua Mangrove; Makroman Village, Samarinda, and Monterado, West Kalimantan, with Makroman Village and Monterado as ex-mining lands.

All kinds of fruits and trees are planted in six different locations. Rahmad Pribadi, President Director of Pupuk Kaltim, said they have planted 2,770 fruit trees that included mango, durian, jackfruit, matoa, bisbul, and gandaria trees in the Army Strategic Reserves Command (KOSTRAD) training area in Ciemas Village, Sukabumi. They also have planted 500 fruit trees in Tropical Orchard-1 PKT and 1,100 mangrove plants in the Maratua Mangrove location in Berau, East Kalimantan.

Other than planting fruit trees, the company also focuses on rehabilitating ex-mining lands. Rehabilitating and planting in ex-mining lands has been one of the Pupuk Kaltim focuses along with the Indonesian government. The goal of planting in the ex-mining land is to restore its quality and make it possible for it to be utilized again. In general, the soil on ex-mining land is infertile due to high soil acidity due to its mining activity beforehand. Pupuk Kaltim then uses an agricultural technology called the environmentally friendly Smart Bio Ball to bring back the soil fertility so that the land can become fertile and green again.

These planting programs are not only to help reduce Indonesia’s carbon emissions and support the government goals but it is also done with the community in mind. The planted fruit tree will benefit the community around the area by involving them in the planting and growing of the three, with a result that they can then enjoy together. 

“PKT will continue to develop a business that maintains the balance of nature and has an impact on society, not only for now but also in the future. In creating initiatives, we always try to make the program have a multiplier effect. That is why, in decarbonization activities through tree planting that has an impact on the environment, we always involve the local community. Even the selected trees can be harvested, the results of which can be felt by the farmers or local communities involved,” said Rahmad Pribadi reported by Detik Finance.