Jakarta, Indonesia– Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that his government plans to retire all coal and other fossil fuel power plants, while significantly boosting the country’s renewable energy capacity in the next 15 years.
Indonesia is rich in geothermal resources, and we plan to phase out coal-fired power plants and all fossil fuel power plants within the next 15 years. “Our plan includes building more than 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity during this period,” Subianto said at the conference. G20 summit In Brazil on Tuesday.
Subianto also said he was “optimistic” that Indonesia would achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a decade earlier than the country’s previous commitment of 2060.
Environmental experts and activists welcomed these announcements, but hedged their expectations.
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of highly polluting coal. Most of its energy comes from fossil fuels. More than 250 coal-fired power plants currently supply the country with energy, and more are being built, including new ones. Industrial parks Where materials of global importance such as NickelCobalt and aluminum are processed.
In 2022, Indonesia’s energy sector emissions of more than 650 million tons of carbon dioxide, the seventh highest in the world. according to International Energy Agency. Population and economic growth are expected to triple the country’s energy consumption by 2050.
Experts said real changes must be implemented on the ground in Indonesia quickly if the president is serious about his plans.
“If the government is serious about accelerating the energy transition, efforts to close coal-fired power plants and prevent the issuance of new permits for the construction of coal-fired power plants must be made visible so that partners, investors and financial institutions can see the pipeline,” said Bhima Yudhisthira, executive director of the Center. Indonesia-based Economic and Legal Studies, in a written statement to The Associated Press: “Progress and progress.”
While Subianto’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, was in office, Indonesia pledged to phase out coal use — or at least significantly reduce it — by agreeing several schemes with international stakeholders.
This includes The largest equitable energy transition partnership deal worth $20 billion yet. The deal has Strive for Changes are being made on the ground but they are still underway. JETP deals still fall short of the trillions of dollars needed to develop the infrastructure needed to transition to renewable energy and put existing coal-fired power plants into early retirement.
In Brazil, Prabowo also spoke about Indonesia’s huge renewable energy potential from solar, hydropower, geothermal, wind and other sources. Only 14.5% of these renewable sources are currently exploited, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Indonesia’s current installed renewable energy capacity is about 13 GW, or less than 15% of total generation capacity.
“We are committed to renewable and green energy. We are blessed with many resources,” he said. “We have other sources of renewable energy, which is why we are very optimistic that we can achieve (net) zero energy before 2050.”
The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and state power utility Perusahan Listric Negara could not immediately be reached for comment.
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