Starting Green Transition in Kalimantan to Entrench Economic Dynamism, Social Progress, and Environmental Sustainability

International Public Lecture Starting Green Transition In Kalimantan To Entrench  Economic Dynamism, Social Progress, And Environmental Sustainbility is a direct cooperation activity that exists in Palangka Raya now which is between UPR, BI, UN & SDSN in the program in Indonesia on the green transition in Kalimantan both in the economic, social and environmental sustainability fields.
For this discussion, where a general seminar for students, lecturers, invited guests was held at the UPR rectorate office on Friday, February 10, 2023 which started at 09:00-12:00 WIB. This seminar was welcomed directly by the rector of UPR, Prof. Dr. Salampak Dohong, MS as well as several UPR deans and at the same time UPR female students to important guests for this seminar, namely guests from Bank Indonesia (BI), as well as UN-SDSN, namely Prof. Wing Thye Woo, a Malaysian-American economist who is a direct speaker in this seminar entitled "PUBLIC LECTURE Starting Green Transition In Kalimantan To Entrench Economic Dynamism, Social Progress, And Environmental Sustainbility".

The 17 SDGs: Economic Prosperity, Social Justice, and Ecological Balance 

The Interrelatedness of Things 

•Leo Tolstoy in opening of Anna Karenina: “Happy  families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy  in its own way.” 

•What is the right translation of Tolstoy’s insight?
 (a) Additive? Y = X0 + aX1 + bX2 + cX3
 (b) Synergistic? Y = X0 X1a X2b X3c 

•A Holistic Approach is required to ensure compatibility amongst Economic Prosperity, Social  Justice, and Ecological Balance → 17 Sustainable  Development Goals (SDGs). 

UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
• SDSN was established in 2012 with Jeffrey Sachs as President, under  auspices of Sec-Gen Ban Ki-Moon, to promote sustainable development
• September 2015: UN General Assembly adopted the 17 Sustainable  Development Goals, SDSN helped coordination of inputs  
• December 2015: Global community signed Paris Climate Treaty, Deep  Decarbonization Pathways Project headed by Jeffrey Sachs and  Laurence Tubiana had provided input
1.Undertake research to produce practical solutions
2.Mobilize knowledge units to participate in Task 1 and to campaign  governments and regional/global agencies to translate fruits from    Task 1 into policy actions
3.Make high-quality education for sustainable development (ESD)  accessible to every segment of every society → SDG Academy

1.THE NEW INTERNATIONAL  NORMAL 

The New International Normal: The return of China  to the center of the international stage
•China GDP is larger than US GDP (in PPP$), i.e. China can  produce as many warplanes as the US annually → potential security threat to US → Cold War 2.0 economic  deglobalization → production chains have to be  reconfigured with permanent efficiency loss  
• China is world’s biggest CO2 emitter → Global warming  → breaching ecological limits → production systems  have to be reconfigured, short-run individual loss but  long-run collective gain

Recent & Future,Global Hegemons  

1. 19th Century: United Kingdom
2. 20th Century: United States
3. 21st Century: China?

The global hegemon  
• Keeps GLOBAL order (sets global norms)  with its overwhelming military power and
• maintains Systemic Stability with its  overwhelming economic power

Previous Global Hegemons
1. 19th Century: United Kingdom: Only 22 countries have  never attacked by UK: The Sun never sets in the British  Empire” (Stuart Laycock).
2. 20th Century: United States: "[In July 2015] … the United  States still maintains nearly 800 military bases in more  than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant  ‘Little Americas’ to small radar facilities. Britain, France  and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases  combined.” (David Vine).

The New International Normal: Regional Clusters
•Will China become the next Global Hegemon,  replacing the USA that had replaced the UK? NO  because India is rising too → No more Global  Hegemon outcome in future
•For the Multi-Polar World, 800 worldwide military  bases by each major power is too dangerously  accident-prone → National security objective is met  by dividing the world into Spheres of Influence e.g. US  chronic agitation over Cuba, China reaches into the  South China Sea

SDSN Projects to Reduce Tensions in Cold War 2.0 

• The national security objective is driven primarily  by mutual distrust about each other’s intentions,  so SDSN designs US-China projects with win-win  outcomes to build trust between US and China.
• SDSN trust-building activities include US-China  cooperation to fight climate change, preserve  bio-diversity, and expand good parts of  globalization.

2.Dealing with Climate Change and  the Destruction of Bio-Diversity SDSN in ASEAN 

1.The ASEAN Green Future project  (AGF)
2.The Science Panel for Southeast  Asia Biodiversity Protection on Land NZE = Net Zero Emissions of Greenhouse Gases
• NZE means transformation to green economy,Global NZE  has to be achieved by 2050 to meet 1.5oC target
• NZE requires a comprehensive investment program that will  not emerge from a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.Successful NZE requires government actions across many  fronts: regulations, education, public investments, and  foreign technological assistance
• NZE for Indonesia is not only responsible global citizenship  but also an externally enforced requirement e.g. European  Green Deal will start putting tariffs on goods from countries  with weak climate actions.SDSN ”ASEAN Green Future (AGF)” Project to fight Climate Change
• Nine country teams (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,  Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) are  analyzing the pathways to achieve NZE.

The ”ASEAN Green Future (AGF)” Framework The specific characteristics ASEAN, like vast rainforests and  plantation agriculture, mean that NZE consists of
1. Reduction in CO2 emission by technical systems like power-generation industry, and transportation sector,decarbonization of technical systems
2. Increase in CO2 absorption by natural carbon sinkholes  with reforestation and restoration of mangrove systems,  and increase carbon-absorptive capacity of soil with  rehabilitation of mined-out land and use of organic  fertiliser,re-carbonization of natural eco-systems.Science Panel on Southeast Asia Biodiversity (SP-SEA)
• SP-SEA is a spinoff from the “re-carbonization of  natural eco-systems” component of AGF that was  motivated by the desire to also study protection of  biodiversity in the context of economic development
• SP-SEA was inspired by the success of SDSN project  Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA). 

3.The Work Agenda for SP-SEA 

1. Forest – protection and expansion → preserve biodiversity and  enlarge natural carbon sinkholes
2. Agriculture – reduce environmental damage & increase crop  resilience & improve soil fertility  
3. Indigenous communities -- Social justice & economic progress  4. Land use – green cities
• SP-SEA will start with Borneo which already has cooperation  of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysian in Heart of Borneo  project. Geographical coverage will increase.
• SP-SEA will expand into “life below the waters of Southeast  Asia”

4. The Time for Leadership from  Indonesia & Universitas Palangka Raya (UPR)

Suggested Initiatives for Indonesia & UPR
• Indonesian is ASEAN Chairman in 2023. It should mobilize several  large ASEAN countries to embark on an integration process that  would lead eventually to an EU-style unity among themselves.  ASEAN’s voice will hence be taken seriously by international bodies  like UN, G20, Cold War 2.0 combatants, and MNCs in these issues:
➢ Keeping ASEAN a zone of peace, freedom, and neutrality
➢ Paying ASEAN the funds promised at the 2015 Paris Climate  Treaty and recent COPs to assist transition to NZE and  protection of forests and bio-diversity
➢ Maintaining the open multilateral trade system
➢ Cajoling US and China to adopt sensible rules of engagement
• UPR scales up collaborative research on SDGs in ASEAN