Indonesia urged to lead global climate diplomacy at COP31 by leveraging its tropical forests and biodiversity assets

At Indonesia's first independent climate forum, the Indonesia Net-Zero Summit 2026, held in Jakarta on August 1–2, experts from the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia called on President Prabowo's government to take a more assertive role in global climate negotiations, particularly ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey in November. Former diplomat Dino Patti Djalal argued that Indonesia's vast tropical rainforests — the world's largest natural carbon sink outside the Amazon — and its extraordinary biodiversity give it unique diplomatic leverage to build international coalitions. The Minister of Environment, Moh Jumhur Hidayat, confirmed the government is preparing a carbon trading package and actively seeking climate finance through forums including the G20 and BRICS, whose New Development Bank has been encouraged to direct 40 per cent of financing to green projects.