The country is the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, according to the World Resources Institute thinktank. Jakarta promised last week at the United Nations to curb emissions by 2030.
Singapore had offered to send C-130 aircraft to Indonesia to conduct cloud seeding operations and Chinook helicopters to douse the forest fires but Jakarta refused the offer, Indonesian state news agency Antara said.
“We will first strive to overcome [the fires] by ourselves. So far, there has not been any agreement with Singapore [about dealing with these fires],” cabinet secretary Pramono Anung was quoted as saying.