To commemorate Earth Day, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Indonesia held a virtual event titled ‘Membumi: Berkisah dan Beraksi untuk Bumi’ or ‘Being one with the earth: Stories and Actions for the Planet’. Combining the power of music and stories, the EU collaborated with musician Kunto Aji, Indonesian leaders, and young environmentalists to inspire people to take action for the environment. The event was premiered on the Narasi TV YouTube channel this afternoon.
This year’s Earth Day theme is ‘Invest in Our Planet’, which calls for a collective partnership between governments, businesses, and citizens to build a greener and healthier planet. Through the Membumi event, the EU aims to raise awareness of the triple planetary crises – climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution – and urge collective responsibility to tackle the crises. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report confirms that climate change induced by human activities is impacting nature and people more intensely, more frequently, and over a wider geographical area than previously thought. One million species are on the brink of extinction in the next few years, according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
Tackling the triple planetary crises is a core part of the European Green Deal. By adopting the Green Deal, the EU is on its path to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Green Deal also includes a number of initiatives to halt biodiversity loss on land and in the seas, such as the EU Biodiversity strategy to protect and restore nature, the Zero Pollution Action Plan to reduce the pollution of air, water, and soil, and the EU Forest Strategy to ensure healthy, diverse and resilient EU forests.
“Both Europe and Indonesia are home to some of the highest levels of biological diversity in the world, and we are continuously working together for a greener planet. I am inspired to see many young people in Indonesia taking action for the earth, together with the government and businesses, and I hope that today’s event can galvanise even more joint action for a healthier planet,” said the Ambassador of the EU to Indonesia, H.E. Vincent Piket.
H.E. Suharso Monoarfa, Minister for National Development Planning/Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) of the Republic of Indonesia, seconded the call for joint action for a healthier planet. "The Government of Republic of Indonesia explicitly places tackling climate change as one of the national development priorities in the 2020-2024 Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). As one of the national priority programmes, Low Carbon Development and Climate Resilient Development play an important role as the backbone towards a green economy and sustainable development,” added Minister Suharso.

Rinawati Eko, Head of the Hutan Itu Indonesia Movement said, “The Membumi event is certainly a shared momentum to remind us that we all have a role to play in making the earth, our home, a healthier place to live in. This can be achieved by ensuring the sustainability of the forest ecosystem and its ecological functions. Protecting forests is one of our biggest investments to ensure a greener and healthier planet to sustain a better quality of life.”

Kicking off the Membumi event, musician Kunto Aji serenaded the audience with songs while reflecting on memories and hopes for a greener environment. Membumi event highlighted stories of young people and leaders who are taking action for the earth from different parts of Indonesia. Conservation scientist Sheherazade shared her experience of leading initiatives to conserve wild animals in Central Sulawesi; Denia and Aldy, the content creator couple behind Cleanomic, talked about sustainable lifestyle ideas for urbanites; Almira from Greeneration Foundation shared her experience in spearheading zero-waste movement initiatives with communities; while Mohamad Fikri of L’Oréal presented concrete corporate actions to drive sustainability. The Membumi event was initiated by the EU Delegation to Indonesia, in partnership with Hutan Itu Indonesia and Narasi TV.