MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, JAKARTA – Abdul Mu’ti, Secretary General of Muhammadiyah, emphasized that climate change and renewable energy issues have become a central focus for this movement.
“The decision of the Muhammadiyah Congress (Mukatamar) on climate change has actually been under consideration since the Muhammadiyah Congress in Makassar. Muhammadiyah’s concern for this issue goes beyond just climate change and encompasses renewable energy,” Mu’ti said at the launch of the “1000 Cahaya” program, an initiative by the Muhammadiyah Council for Environmental Preservation (MLH) on Monday (May 6) at the Muhammadiyah Office, Jakarta.
Environmental conservation efforts, Mu’ti said, require the support of many parties and cannot be done alone. In short, the world is currently in a boiling situation due to global warming.
He saw that the serious impacts of climate change are not only energy and food crises, but also political crises that change regional politics or geopolitics, which inevitably have an impact on Indonesia.
In Indonesia, climate change according to Abdul Mu’ti has an impact on the rise in sea level, so that the originally wide land will be narrowed. If left unchecked, experts predict it will change the world map.
“I now understand that climate change, which may not be solely caused by nature but also by politics, could be one of the factors contributing to the annual changes in world maps,” he explained.
“Why is there always a change in the world map every year? I now understand that it could be that from year to year climate change is one of the factors that is not only caused by nature itself but also including politics,” he said.
Environmental damage caused by climate change, Mu’ti added, is largely attributed to external factors, particularly human activities such as rampant and uncontrolled industrialization in all sectors.
Therefore, the focus of Muhammadiyah’s movement is not only on environmental conservation but also on renewable energy issues. Mu’ti urged all Muhammadiyah institutions to be aware of the issues.
“Earlier it was mentioned that there is an energy charity idea, so Muhammadiyah’s big agenda together can be strived for so that renewable energy can be developed and utilized,” he said.
“From the availability of the sun, it can be a renewable energy source. Muhammadiyah mosques and offices have already used solar energy and will be continued to other Muhammadiyah institutions,” explained Mu’ti.
This strategic issue has been actualized into a real movement by Muhammadiyah, including the presence of Green Schools which have been proclaimed since a long time ago in the Muhammadiyah business organization environment.
Going beyond just planting trees, the movement also encompasses other alternative initiatives that can trigger behavior change to reduce the impact of climate change through environmentally friendly activities.