This is a surprise as I thought the third biggest greenhouse gas contributor was India.
No. 3 greenhouse gas emitter is a surprise
Due to logging and fires, Indonesia follows only U.S. and China
Updated: 9:19 a.m. PT June 4, 2007
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia is among the world's top three greenhouse gas emitters because of deforestation, peatland degradation and forest fires, a report sponsored by the World Bank and Britain's development arm said.
An increase of global temperatures has already resulted in prolonged drought, heavy rainfall leading to floods and tidal waves in Indonesia, putting the archipelago's rich biodiversity at risk, said the report, released on Monday.
"Emissions resulting from deforestation and forest fires are five times those from non-forestry emissions. Emissions from energy and industrial sectors are relatively small, but are growing very rapidly," it added.
The destruction of forests by logging and fires releases vast amounts of carbon stored in trees.
"This may lead to harmful effects on agriculture, fishery and forestry, resulting in threats to food security and livelihoods," said the report, which comes ahead of this week's G8 summit in Germany where global warming is major item on the agenda.
The report is a review of published information compiled by PT Pelangi Energi Abadi Citra Enviro (PEACE), a consulting arm of an Indonesian research institute dealing with the environment, and was sponsored by the World Bank and the British government.
3 billion metric tons a year
Indonesia's total annual carbon dioxide emissions stand at 3 billion metric tons after the United States, the world's top emitter with 6 billion tons followed by China at 5 billion tons, according to data from the report.
