The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Indonesia, in cooperation with the Universitas Muhammadiyah (UM) Pontianak, held a public lecture today (6/7). Titled “EU Ambassador Talk: Climate Change and Circular Economy”, the public lecture was delivered by the EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, H.E. Mr Vincent Piket. The virtual event was attended by the Rector of UM Pontianak Dr DoddyIrawan, ST., M.Eng, academics and hundreds of students.
EU Ambassador Vincent Piket stated, “Recovery from the COVID-crisis can be done in two ways: we can repeat what we did before and invest in the old economy or we can be smart and combine this with the necessity to move to a green economy. Europe chooses the latter, and sees this as a huge opportunity. In December 2019 – just before the COVID-crisis – the EU adopted a new policy framework called the European Green Deal”.
“The Green Deal is our growth strategy. It provides a roadmap with actions to move to a clean, circular economy, restoring biodiversity and cutting pollution. However, we are very well aware that we cannot do this in isolation. Working with international partners is an absolute must, if we all are to merge from the crisis stronger,” he added.
“The EU and Indonesia have built a strong cooperation over many years on fighting climate change, sustainable energy, smart green cities, circular economy forest governance and ocean governance. The EU is ready to expand our Green Agenda with Indonesia to work closer together towards common goals. This Green Agenda could include more green investments, trade, cooperation on renewable energy and circular economy, with the ultimate goal of moving jointly towards climate neutrality,” said EU Ambassador Piket.
The Rector of UM Pontianak, DoddyIrawan who is an Alumni of EU’s Erasmus Scholarship stated, “We hope the Ambassador Talk session today could be seen as the initial step for a stronger collaboration between UM Pontianak as the biggest private university in West Kalimantan and the EU, to improve access and quality of the Indonesian higher education sector. Cooperation between the two parties could cover the provision of scholarships for lecturers and students to continue their studies, jointresearch, student and academia exchange, training, and many more. Those programmes could be directed to develop local resources in agriculture, farming, and fisheries while mitigating challenges due to climate change.”
The “EU Ambassador Talk” is a series public lectures aimed at addressing topical issues and increasing the understanding of the EU, its policies and priorities. The series of lectures will continue throughout the year, involving various universities across Indonesia. The ‘EU Ambassador Talk” had taken place at the University of Indonesia, Depok, and will subsequently be held in other provinces, including in East Nusa Tenggara, Aceh and North Sulawesi.