Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian government is encouraging cooperatives to get involved in environmental conservation, including carbon trading, through an agreement signed by the Environment Ministry and Cooperatives Ministry.Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono said the Environment Ministry had encouraged cooperatives to explore carbon trading as a new business opportunity.”The environment minister has also encouraged us to get involved in carbon trading, which could become a new business opportunity for cooperatives in Indonesia,” Minister Ferry said at his office in Jakarta on Thursday.The recent inauguration of a crude palm oil (CPO) processing plant owned by KUD Sejahtera, a village unit cooperative, was among the factors prompting the government to expand cooperatives' involvement in the carbon business.”We recently inaugurated a cooperative-owned CPO plant and many cooperatives across the country manage oil palm plantations. This was also one of the points raised by the Environment Minister,” Ferry explained.Meanwhile, the Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat said the cooperatives were among President Prabowo Subianto's priorities in efforts to strengthen people's economy.Hidayat said the cooperation with the Cooperatives Ministry was part of the Environment Ministry's efforts to support the goal, particularly by preparing cooperatives to participate in the carbon trading market.”A High-integrity carbon trading can only take place if the proceeds from carbon unit sales are truly felt by local communities,” Hidayat said.Carbon trading businesses, he added, must be operated by legally incorporated entities, a role that cooperatives can fulfill.”The instruments are already in place. We can complement each other and provide education at the grassroots level, so that carbon trading is not enjoyed only by the elite, because the value involved can reach tens of trillions of rupiah,” Minister Hidayat said.The cooperation will also include environmental literacy support from the Environment Ministry to ensure the cooperatives have adequate knowledge of sustainable management and compliance with environmental standards.Cooperatives will also be encouraged to participate in programmes supporting the Environment Ministry's initiatives, including waste and wastewater management through circular and modern approaches.