12 May 2021

Indonesia says it will stop building new coal-fired power plants after 2023 to meet its carbon-neutral goals — but the more than 100 plants to be built by then will still be churning out CO2 decades after that. Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of Indonesian private policy think tank the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), said PLN’s plan to stop building new coal plants is the first step toward decarbonizing the country’s economy, which is still heavily reliant on dirty coal. “According to our study, Indonesia could achieve net-zero emissions in 2050 if emissions from power plants are reduced as fast as possible,” he told Mongabay. “So the first key is to completely stop building new coal plants at least after 2025. But if possible, before 2025 is better.”