Climate change is now a real threat to global food security. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 report notes that a 1.1°C increase in global average temperature since the pre-industrial era has reduced global food productivity by 5-10%. In Indonesia, the impacts of climate change are felt through erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and the frequency of natural disasters such as floods and droughts, which threaten major food crops such as rice. The agriculture sector, which contributes around 13% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2023, is vulnerable.
For this reason, Enter Nusantara continues to be committed to being a driving force to solve climate problems by holding a public discussion entitled “Sowing Hope: Food Security in the Midst of Energy Transition. This discussion aims to highlight the global challenges of climate change that have a significant impact on the food sector, as well as the opportunities and challenges of energy transition towards a low-carbon economy.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that by 2050, global agricultural output could experience a significant decline of up to 15% due to the impacts of climate change. This phenomenon is expected to be most severe in the tropics, where higher temperatures, erratic rainfall, and natural disasters such as droughts and floods will threaten agricultural productivity. This will not only increase hunger and food insecurity, but also threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers who depend on crops as their main source of income.
As the threat of climate change becomes more apparent, the energy transition is crucial as a mitigation measure to reduce its adverse effects. One solution that is considered promising is the shift from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy, especially solar energy. Solar energy is not only able to reduce carbon emissions that are harmful to the environment but also utilizes an abundant resource, sunlight, which is freely available and does not cause pollution. By adopting solar energy, countries around the world can reduce their dependence on increasingly scarce and expensive fossil fuels while reducing the negative impact on climate change.
However, while solar energy has great potential to address many environmental challenges, the transition has not been without obstacles. One of the main challenges is the development of efficient energy storage technologies. Solar energy relies on sunlight that is only available during the day, so to ensure a continuous supply of energy, an energy storage system is needed that can store the electricity generated during the day for use at night or during bad weather. In addition, energy distribution is also a crucial issue, especially in remote areas that are not covered by conventional energy infrastructure. Without adequate infrastructure to distribute solar energy throughout the region, the huge potential of this resource cannot be fully utilized. Therefore, a successful energy transition requires significant investment in the development of energy storage technologies, as well as the improvement and expansion of energy distribution infrastructure around the world.
The purpose of this activity is to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector in Indonesia, as well as explore opportunities and challenges in energy transition, especially solar energy. It also aims to identify innovative solutions and policies that can maintain food security amidst the energy transition, as well as encourage collaboration between the government, private sector, communities, and academia to create sustainable solutions.
The outcome of this activity is expected to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector, as well as the opportunities that exist in the energy transition. Key challenges identified included limited renewable energy infrastructure, vulnerability of the agriculture sector, and climate change impacts. Practical solutions found included the development of renewable energy storage technologies, innovations in climate-resilient agriculture, and policies that support the sustainability of the food and energy sectors. In addition, this activity also aims to improve communication between stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy without compromising the food sector.
The discussion emphasized that the success of the transition to a low-carbon economy relies heavily on the adoption of collaborative and innovative approaches. This transition requires not only individual efforts but also cooperation between different actors, including governments, the private sector, civil society, and the international community. Success must include the ability to maintain a delicate balance between two interconnected but sometimes conflicting fundamental needs: the need for affordable and sustainable energy and the fulfillment of food security that can ensure people not only live with enough energy but also have access to sufficient, nutritious, and equitable food.
The importance of a collaborative and innovative approach lies in the fact that the challenges faced are complex and interrelated. On the one hand, we need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, which are the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. On the other hand, we must also ensure that policies taken to reduce emissions do not come at the expense of the agricultural sector and food security, which are crucial aspects for people’s survival, especially in developing countries like Indonesia. Therefore, innovations in environmentally friendly renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, or biomass energy, are essential to improving energy security without harming the environment or threatening food security.
In Indonesia, a country rich in natural resources but also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, this challenge is even more pressing. To deal with the increasingly real threat of climate change, Indonesia needs to implement strategic measures that combine energy needs with the protection of the agriculture and fisheries sectors on which many of its citizens depend. One strategic step is to introduce renewable energy systems that support sustainable agriculture, such as the use of solar energy for irrigation or wind energy for processing agricultural products. In this way, the energy and agriculture sectors can coexist, rather than compete, to achieve sustainable development goals.
This transition should also involve human and technological capacity-building efforts that include workforce training in renewable energy, wise management of natural resources, and development of technologies that can reduce carbon footprints across sectors, including agriculture. With these strategic and planned steps, Indonesia has great potential to not only face the challenges of climate change but also ensure sustainability for future generations. This will ensure that Indonesia not only survives the impacts of climate change but can also grow economically while preserving the environment and creating greener and more sustainable jobs.
