In recent days, Jakarta has entered the top 50 cities with bad air in the world which is certainly a concern for DKI Jakarta residents to be more concerned about environmental conditions.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday (15/6), for example, recorded Jakarta’s air quality at 106 points with a PM 2.5 pollutant concentration level of 40.4 micrograms per cubic meter or 8.1 times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual air quality guidance value.
Many factors affect air quality in Jakarta so that it has not shown improved conditions. One of them is a natural phenomenon in the form of wind direction from the East that brings dry air. This natural phenomenon often occurs from June to August.
Then another factor that is no less important in contributing to air pollution is the emission of motor vehicles and buildings that are wasteful of energy. Buildings that are wasteful of energy (electricity) indirectly contribute to emissions because plants in Indonesia are still fueled by coal (fossil).
Thus, If Jakarta wants to become a city that has clean air, these three factors must be gradually addressed. For example, for natural phenomena, the best step is to improve the environment by multiplying trees and expanding the area of mangrove forests (mangroves) in coastal areas.
So to reduce motor vehicle emissions, the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta must immediately expand the public transportation network. The availability of public transportation must be able to catch up with the rate of population growth, especially in buffer zones.
As is known, the traffic density that often adorns during working hours is due to the movement of residents who live in Bodetabek (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) to the capital. With the increasing number of people who work and attend school in Jakarta, it is practically necessary to have policies in the field of transportation so that congestion problems can be overcome.
Finally, for buildings, the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta must intensively socialize to owners to apply building materials that are more environmentally friendly so that they are no longer “wasteful” in consuming energy.
Of these three solutions, of course, not all are the responsibility of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government. The role of stakeholders (business entities, universities, community leaders) becomes very crucial to make changes so that air quality handling policies can run smoothly.
Lately, there have been many parties who want to help the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta as a form of concern to overcome air quality. Like the TNI and Polri who have collaborated with the administrative government in DKI Jakarta to utilize vacant land and Home yards to plant various plants including trees.
Several companies also collaborated with the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government to green Jakarta. Some even care to take part in decorating the Child-Friendly Green Open Space (RPTRA) located in the corners of the city.
Utilization of land into a park is one of the solutions to reduce emissions from buildings. Between / Ganet
In an effort to overcome dirty air, the government itself already has guidelines contained in law Number 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management which is amended through a government regulation replacing Law Number 2 of 2022 on Job Creation which is then stipulated as Law Number 6 of 2023 and Government Regulation Number 22 of 2021 on Environmental Protection and management.
In the regulation, it clearly regulates about strict sanctions to parties that have contributed to air pollution measured using emission quality standards.
Not only that, it also regulates the obligations in the field of prevention, countermeasures to recover the effects of air pollution, including the time limit to overcome air pollution, which should not exceed 24 hours.
Handling is also arranged in stages ranging from the level of Regents/ mayors, governors, to ministers if the problem of air pollution is cross-regional and even the government can appoint a third party if the handling of air pollution can not be resolved.
The role of buildings
The Indonesian government has ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 which agreed to contribute to preventing climate change in the world. Related to this, Indonesia stated its commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions in 2060 which means that all development activities including infrastructure must be environmentally sound.
In an effort to meet the zero percent emission target, the government has raised the emission reduction target from 31.89 percent to 43.20 percent. This means that the entire community, including the business world, is asked to save energy to achieve these targets.
Along with the policy, the government issued various policies to reduce emissions ranging from increasing compliance with spatial planning, urban planning based on environmentally friendly public transportation, carbon exchanges for public companies whose businesses have adopted zero carbon standards, and encouraging development including environmentally sound infrastructure.
The atmosphere of Jakarta when the government imposed a motor vehicle-free day at night. Between / Ganet
The contribution of buildings to air pollution is very significant reaching 38 percent at the global level. This is very possible because the use of building materials whose production is mostly not environmentally friendly be it cement, brick, light brick, iron, roof, and others.
Departing from that concern, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as an organization part of the World Bank (World Bank) which was established to support the private sector in several developing countries issued EDGE certificates (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencises) or the best design for the highest efficiency for buildings that have adopted environmentally friendly building standards (green building).
To date, EDGE certificates have been submitted in 103 countries covering 95 thousand projects. While the emissions saved are equivalent to 1.7 million tons of CO2 since 2015. Unfortunately for Indonesia so far the number is not too much. One of the obstacles because the source of energy from buildings in Indonesia comes from coal plants.
However, businesses can still reduce emissions through carbon offsets, namely by compensating by reducing or saving emissions. With this scheme, the building owner still has the opportunity to get the status of an environmentally friendly building.
Audit
IFC itself continues to encourage companies in various countries including Indonesia to implement zero carbon policies. Companies that want to be certified as environmentally friendly buildings (green building) must pass verification from independent auditors beforehand.
This certificate is important because a number of countries use it to get tax incentives (reductions), then along with concern for the environment, many residents of buildings, both individuals and business entities, require environmentally friendly certification because it can reduce operational and maintenance costs for the long term.
There are concerns that building owners who want to embed environmentally friendly technology require no small costs. The Indonesian government itself ensures that all building products that have SNI pockets mean they have passed the environmentally friendly test.
For example, double glass technology (double glass) which is able to optimize sunlight exposure but also ward off UV rays so that it can reduce cooling and lamp engine users.This technology has been widely produced in Indonesia so that building owners will have no difficulty in applying it.
By adopting environmentally friendly building materials, buildings can minimally reduce energy by more than 40 percent, not only that with today’s technology it is possible to save water use by up to 25 percent.
Through these savings efforts, in addition to reducing its carbon footprint, it also contributes to global efforts to combat climate change and promote a healthier environment.
If all skyscrapers in DKI Jakarta have adopted low-carbon technology, it is possible that Indonesia’s ranking, which is often at the top of the bad air ranking, can be suppressed.
Especially if these buildings also accommodate government policies so that all residents use public transportation in the sense of providing more comfortable facilities for pedestrians and limiting private vehicles through the availability of parking lots.