• A Brief Conversation With an Old Friend

    January 31, 2012

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    The last time I visited Jakarta I was having a nice conversation with my classmate, a nice guy who is now working for one of the largest FMCG company in Indonesia (or probably the world :p). It has been a couple years or two since the last time the two of us met, leaving lots of things to update. Each and every stories were very nice, among those , many are nostalgic, some are brief update of our recent life, but one thing that I think really worth sharing is about his job.

    Just like me, he graduated from the faculty of forestry of Universitas Gadjah Mada. He, instead of getting a forestry job, then landed a job at an FMCG company through a management trainee program where he experienced different business function across various business units which is not what we are trained for. During earlier period of the program, he always answered “I am selling milk” whenever people ask about how he makes a living, including to me.

    Continue reading »

  • 12 Weeks worth of Writings

    December 14, 2011

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    American professors of literature crank out 70,000 scholarly publications a year, compared with 13,757 in 1959. Most of these simply moulder: Mark Bauerlein of Emory University points out that, of the 16 research papers produced in 2004 by the University of Vermont’s literature department, a fairly representative institution, 11 have since received between zero and two citations.

    I am fully agree with above statement, but still, in the past four months have been trained to write scientific articles. I have produced four term papers in 2011. Obliged by the professors, that is the main driving force investing at least three weeks of my life writing each of those papers. Continue reading »

  • Sectors excluded from the European Union Emission Trading Scheme

    December 2, 2011

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    Among many sectors included within the EU ETS, emission reduction from forestry in a form of carbon sinks and nuclear power are excluded. This exclusion is consistent with European Union negotiation at any international convention.

    The decision to about whether to exclude a sector is related with

    -          Whether there are real emission reductions

    -          Whether those can be measured or verified

    -          The need to pursue real  reduction rather than temporary storage

    -          The environmental and social impact

    Or in other word it is the assurance of environmental integrity of the emission reduction effort that is considered.  This is mentioned under in paragraph 5 of the new article 11(b) of the ET Directive that stated “real, measureable, and long term benefit related to the mitigation of climate change” Continue reading »

  • Why Kyoto Protocol is considered as market mechanisms?

    November 23, 2011

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    Before we address the question let’s take a look at the definition of market mechanism to give a sense of what is market mechanism and what is not.

    “The process by which a market solves a problem of allocating resources, especially that of deciding how much of a good or service should be produced, but other such problems as well. The market mechanism is an alternative, for example, to having such decisions made by government” (Deardoff’s Glossary of International Economics)

    From the definition there are two points worth noting, first, that it is the market that solves the problem of resources allocation, and second, the problem can be solved by government instead. Moreover another characteristic of market especially competitive market or free market is that it can optimally allocate resources through the interaction of supply and demand.

    Then there is The Kyoto protocol which is an attempt by the world community to realize the goal set during UNFCCC in limiting greenhouse gas emission.  The protocol comprises of a complex architecture that address complicated issues of economics, social, politics and environment through many measures and mechanisms. Among those, Continue reading »

  • What Protected Area has to offer for REDD

    November 16, 2011

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    Among the longstanding assumptions on which REDD were established is that protected areas are permanent fixtures on the landscape, hence ineligible to be funded. This basic assumption then proven to be otherwise through what Mascia and Pailer termed as protected areas downgrading downsizing and degazettement (PADDD). The result is that overtime, there will be an increase in emission due to greater percentage of protected area estates lost to PADDD. Continue reading »

  • What is the difference between the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol?

    November 15, 2011

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    By definition United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto protocol differ in a sense that UNFCCC is a treaty under the United Nations which came into force in 1994, after opened for signature by heads of state since June 1992 during Rio Earth Summit where up until May 2011, UFCCC has 194 signatories. While UNFCC is a treaty which defined as an agreement among parties under international law, Kyoto protocol is a protocol which supplements or amends a treaty. The protocol was initially adopted on December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force on February 2005.

    Substantially, it is the ineffectiveness of the signing of the UNFCCC took place at the Rio Earth summit that led to the need of amendments. The ineffectiveness was due to the fact that no legally binding targets were agreed among the UNFCCC committed signatories. Continue reading »

  • What is a smart grid and what is it good for?

    November 10, 2011

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    Smart grid has no single definition yet, however the key aspect of smart grid as opposed to conventional electrical grid is that it has modernized and integrated power generation, transmission and distribution system that is design to reduce inefficiencies. Our power grid is using AC which unlike DC it cannot store electricity, thus our generators run in fluctuation in order to adjust to the actual usage of electricity –which has sharp different peak and off-peak curve–. Such condition resulting in inefficiency due to generators, as any other machines will be more efficient if operated steadily. Inefficiency is also caused by the need to have spinning reserve to cope with peak usage. Spinning reserve is a generator that operated at its least capacity and can be increased when necessary. Continue reading »

  • Is the “gas weapon” more effective than the “oil weapon”?

    November 10, 2011

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    Compared to oil which accounted for one third of world’s primary energy supply, gas occupies only a modest portion of the portfolio. This gave us a picture of the significance between the two. However in term of effectiveness as a “weapon”, market size is not the only thing that matters. The structure of the market, which defines how players within interact with each other is, of the utmost importance.

    Referring to microeconomic theory about market structure, the oil market is closer to the so called perfect competition market where the numbers of suppliers as well as buyers are many. Changes in supply in one place will affect price at the global market. That way, less intervention options are available to be made by buyers and sellers to each other, hence lessen the effectiveness of the oil as a weapon. Continue reading »