Climate change issues have taken centre stage in the Indonesian media outlets as the world is gearing up to start United Nations Climate Change Conference, Conference of Parties (COP) 26, in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November 2021.  

We categorised four main issues that the media reported when reporting climate change. 

• Climate leadership. Media coverage on this issue centres on leadership at all government levels to tackle climate change. Kompas reported on the importance to translate high-level agreement at the international level into local regulation and action. The role of local government is pronounced as the Jakarta Governor issued Local Regulation on Climate-Resilient and Low Carbon Development. 

• Climate emergency. The Indonesian media mostly cited international reports and publications such as IPCC on the impact of climate change on water scarcity, FAO on food insecurity, McKinsey on potential economic losses and Climate Central on sea-level rise hazard to Indonesian coastal cities. 

• Climate financing. Media also turns to climate financing, as the funding gap becomes one of the crucial issues that COP26 will address. News coverage centres on ADB’s efforts to increase its climate financing to its member countries and Indonesia’s step to impose a carbon tax. 

• Climate action. Media brings forward the importance of inclusivity and collaboration in climate action, especially to include young people in climate decision-making processes.

The media monitoring also shows a need to investigate the impact of climate change on water supply in Indonesia, as Suara reported that such studies are not yet available. Please click on the picture below to download.