OREANDA-NEWS  Indonesia has opened the first exchange for trading greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions quotas. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the holding of trading on the Indonesian Stock Exchange under the supervision of the Financial Services Authority, Bloomberg writes.

The leader of the island state is confident that the trade in carbon credits will allow the country to contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. The exchange's trading potential, according to Widodo, reaches $194 billion. The auction opened on September 26 with fifteen deals, which is equal to 459 thousand tons of CO2 equivalent. Its exchange rate during the first day of trading increased from 69.6 thousand Indonesian rupees (equivalent to 4.51 US dollars) to 77 thousand rupees.

As RBC reminds, the system of trading emission quotas has been operating since 2008 in Switzerland and New Zealand, since 2015 — in South Korea. There is also a carbon market in Kazakhstan. Indonesia is the world's largest coal exporter, and despite the recognition by the local president of the growing problem of global warming, the construction of coal—fired power plants in the country continues.

Earlier, the Indonesian leader proposed to introduce a tax on air pollution in the country and create a law obliging drivers to use fuel with the highest octane number. The reason for the tightening of the requirements was the rapid deterioration of air quality in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. This was caused by a prolonged drought, vehicle exhaust, as well as emissions from local coal-fired plants. As a result, on August 13, the air in Jakarta became the dirtiest in the world.