Carbon Emission Reduction Not the Only Sustainability Indicator: Experts

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Experts warn that Indonesia’s sustainability agenda remains narrowly focused on reducing carbon emissions, while overlooking biodiversity, health, and social dimensions. This limited approach risks producing partial solutions that fail to address environmental challenges comprehensively.

Founder of the Center for Quality Resilience and Sustainability (CQRS) Indonesia, Yuliasman Chaniago, stressed that carbon is not the sole indicator of sustainability or human health. “Without biodiversity and a robust environmental system, we will only solve part of the problem,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

He also noted that environmental risks and climate change have yet to be integrated into the national health system. “Health can no longer be separated from the environmental systems that support it,” Yuliasman added.

A researcher at the University of Indonesia’s Research Center for Climate Change (RCCC-UI), Rondang Siregar, highlighted the phenomenon of “carbon tunnel vision,” where policies focus too narrowly on emissions. He warned that this risks neglecting the biodiversity crisis and weakening ecological systems.

“If we’re too focused on carbon, we might forget that without biodiversity, there’s no natural system capable of absorbing carbon,” Rondang said. He emphasized that biodiversity is the foundation of sustainability, not merely an add-on, and argued that carbon-centric approaches could lead to practices that fail to fully restore ecosystems.

The Indonesian Society of Sustainability Professionals (IS2P) forum underscored the need for an integrated, cross-sectoral approach. Without recognizing the interconnectedness of environmental, health, and social factors, current efforts risk creating new crises in the future. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)