FAJAR.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The chairman of the Code of Ethics Council of the Association of City Planners, Bernardus Djonosaputro, stated that the government needs to implement transportation policies to reduce carbon emissions, which are currently causing air pollution in Jakarta.
According to him, the main problem of air pollution in Jakarta is transportation, not the steam power plant (PLTU) because the air in the capital is still unhealthy even though the PLTU is in the shutdown position.
“Transportation sector policies need to be taken on the basis of reducing carbon emissions for public health,” he said in a written statement in Jakarta, Tuesday.
Currently, he continued, transportation policy in Indonesia is still lagging behind compared to other countries, consequently affecting the pattern of people in the country in using transportation.
He said that people have not used public transportation massively, even though in developed countries, people prefer to use public transportation because it is safe, cheap, and minimal risk.
Currently, he explained, Indonesian people, especially in big cities like Jakarta, prefer private vehicles that emit carbon emissions.
“That’s the source of the pollution. So the policy taken is not turning off the PLTU, but changing the pattern of transportation use,” said Bernardus Djonosaputro.
He gave an example, developed countries have implemented electric vehicle zoning in a number of big cities. “There should be no more combustion engine vehicles passing through the city.”
However, what is currently happening is that the government is actually increasing the number of vehicles on the pretext of maintaining the potential for vehicle tax revenue which is still relatively high.
