Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Air pollution in the Greater Jakarta area is in a bad state. For example, DKI Jakarta is included in the city with the worst air pollution in the world based on IQAir.
In IQAir’s record on August 20, 2023, the air quality index in DKI Jakarta in ‘red’ color reached 152 AQI US.
With that, the central government immediately intervened to deal with air pollution, especially in Jabodetabek. The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan also came down from the mountain to coordinate this air handling.
This was revealed by Luhut in his Instagram account following up on direct instructions from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and directly conveyed by Luhut at the ‘Efforts to Improve Air Quality for the Greater Jakarta Area’ meeting across ministries/agencies (K/L) as well as DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten Regional Governments cross ministries/agencies (K/L) as well as the Regional Governments of DKI Jakarta, West Java and Banten in their offices, Friday (18/8/2023).
Weather Modification
Luhut initially alluded to WHO data which states 6.7 million premature deaths every year are caused by air pollution. He said the PM 2.5 pollutant, which measures 2.5 micrometers, is the cause of one of the 10 major diseases that are funded by JKN and cost the state budget Rp. 10 trillion.
“The impact of air pollution is rarely felt directly, but the bad impact will in the long term reduce the quality of public health, quality of life, and increase the burden on the state treasury,” said Luhut.
After the ratas with Jokowi, Luhut said that the problem of increasing air pollution in Jabodetabek needed to be taken seriously. The first step taken is weather modification.
“We need to work from upstream to downstream to reach a holistic solution. As a quick first step, we will carry out weather modifications to moisten and reduce air pollutants,” he explained.
Coal Power Plant Using Scrubber
Luhut said he would reduce the number of coal-fired power plants to control emissions. The government will require the industry to use a ‘scrubber’.
“As an effort to control emissions, we will require the industry to use scrubbers and reduce the number of coal-fired power plants. The expansion and tightening of emission tests for vehicles operating on roads will be implemented in the near future,” said Luhut.
Distribution of Working Hours
The government is also reviewing work-sharing options as an effort to tackle air pollution. Luhut said the division of labor would reduce congestion which would have an impact on pollutant levels. “We will also convey the regulation on the division of working hours to all companies in order to reduce the level of congestion that causes an increase in pollutants on the road,” Luhut explained.
Encourage Public Transportation
Luhut said the use of public transportation continues to be encouraged and the capacity of public transportation during rush hour needs to be increased. In addition, added Luhur, a study was conducted to provide more incentives for public transportation users to be motivated to switch from private vehicles.
Speed Up Electric Vehicles
Finally, Luhut encourages acceleration of vehicle electrification and comprehensive supervision. Luhut said that every policy must be monitored and community participation is needed. “We cannot make policies without overseeing their implementation. This is where the active participation of the community continues to be needed,” said Luhut.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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