01/02/2016 (Tempo.co) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said that the decision made by several countries to limit palm oil consumption had harmed the Indonesian economy. Darmin explained that many countries prefer to limit palm oil consumption rather than paid additional fees.

"As a result, Indonesia is burdened with more costs to sustain [production]," Darmin said in the Climate Festival event held by the Environment and Forestry Ministry in Jakarta on Monday, February 1, 2016. The event was held as a follow up o the COP21 event in Paris.

Darmin said that Indonesia, as a developing country that still relies on natural resources as its main source of energy, is often urged to produce environmentally friendly products in order to prevent climate changes.

Therefore, Darmin, who is a former Governor of Bank Indonesia, hoped that the COP21 event in Paris could help to drive local and international stakeholder to take part in preventing climate changes, "including having the willingness to pay for environmentally friendly products."

Howver, Darmin underlined that definition of the term 'willingness to pay' still needs to be clarified. Currently, according to Darmin, Indonesians are often trapped in the idea that foreign parties are willing to pay higher price for environmentally friendly products. "But the progress is so slow," Darmin said. Darmin added that foreign consumers have not made a significant contribution on paying the cost to produce green products.