Energy Transition: From, By, and For the Society

Denpasar, August 11th, 2022 – The involvement of the wider community has a very important role in realizing the energy transition agenda. One of the initial steps is to provide a forum for sharing knowledge and discussion. In contrast to formal discussions targeting stakeholders, discussions with an informal, light, and entertaining format for the community are believed to be more effective. This is expected to be a comfortable space for the public to express their opinions openly.

Based on this understanding, the Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) project in Indonesia held an activity entitled “The Role of Public Participation in Energy Transition” which was carried out in Denpasar with representatives of civil society organizations, youth groups, and students in Bali. In this activity, CASE seeks to provide a forum for discussion as well as exchanging ideas and knowledge related to the topic of energy transition in Indonesia, especially in the context of Bali.

To facilitate the Balinese people in understanding the context of the energy transition, CASE Indonesia also presented various local expert speakers who explained various aspects of the energy transition and its relation to the people in Bali. For example, how renewable energy can be utilized, accessed, and have a positive impact on various levels of society in Bali.

Various policies to realize the energy transition has been issued in Indonesia. Especially in Bali, the Provincial Government of Bali has shown a positive response and supports the energy transition with clean energy policies which are expected to support the economic development of the Balinese people. However, these various policies will not be of much use if the community does not take part in the success of the plan.

“All the involvement of various community groups in Bali is important so that the energy transition becomes doable and not only in the form of policies on paper,” said Ida Ayu Dwi Giriantari from the Center of Excellence Community Based Renewable Energy – Udayana University.

People in Bali depend on the tourism sector for their livelihoods to support their economy. CASE seeks to introduce real examples of tourism business units owned by indigenous Balinese people who have utilized renewable energy so that people can witness the impact of renewable energy in a business at the community level.

Present on this occasion, Putu Swantara Putra, often called Bli Klick, an architect and entrepreneur in the hospitality sector in Bali, tells his experience using renewable energy.

“There is nothing to lose in utilizing renewable energy (rooftop solar panels), with the various financing schemes that exist now, for us entrepreneurs, it feels the same as paying for PLN electricity. Imagine, the difference is that I have made a difference and are more environmentally friendly, even more so in a few years the tools are mine and I can use them for free.”

Similar to Bli Klick’s statement, Dayu Maharatni from the Amoghassiddhi Cooperative said that the potential for financing rooftop solar power plants is interesting to observe. The Amoghassiddhi Cooperative is a community-based cooperative financing institution that provides a financing scheme for installing solar panels for its members.

“There is already a regulation that regulates us, the cooperatives, to provide an interest rate of no more than 1%. With this, we hope that more of our cooperative members are interested in developing their businesses with renewable energy. In our cooperatives, energy credit financing is only 2.4% compared to other types of financing. This means that there is still a lot of development potential (for renewable energy financing) for our members.”

Dayu invites the public to understand that currently the potential for developing renewable energy is still very wide and has many benefits for the people in Bali. Furthermore, not only from the point of view of climate change mitigation but the development of renewable energy is also considered to have potential as a career choice (green jobs) and the community’s economy in the future.

“Later on, the human resources needed in the development of renewable energy will be needed in every business process, for example, researchers, planners, operators, evaluators, and so on. Based on this data, if it is developed according to the development map, the Government estimates that by 2050, at least thousands of workers will be absorbed in this renewable energy sector,” said I Gusti Ngurah Agung Dwijaya Saputra from the Bali State Polytechnic closing the presentation session.

Study Launch: Financing Indonesia’s Coal Phase Out: A Just and Accelerated Retirement Pathway to Net Zero

Jakarta, August 3, 2022– CFPP early retirement needs to be done to achieve emission-free by 2050 according to the Paris Agreement commitments. A study by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) with the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS), University of Maryland and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies found that Indonesia could accelerate the termination of Center operations in 2045 to reap wider social, economic and environmental benefits. Some of the benefits described in the study entitled “Financing Indonesia’s coal phase-out: A just and accelerated retirement pathway to net-zero” include: increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the energy mix, improving environmental and economic quality, reducing pollution, improving air quality, and lower health costs. 

Ailun Yang, Head of International Program of  Climate and Environment, Bloomberg Philanthropies, stated that removing coal is not an easy task for every country. Ailun stated that a consistent framework and the most effective strategy were needed to stop coal use. 

“That’s why this study is important to see the right scenario to be applied in Indonesia,” said Ailun. 

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR informed that this study is the first investigation in Indonesia on coal retirement plans and their financing programs. In addition, Fabby conveyed information that last year, IESR and BNEF produced a report showing that by 2027, Solar PV battery storage capacity will produce electricity costs that are 25% cheaper than new coal plants. By 2032, the cost of generating coal plants can be exceeded by Solar PV combined with 100% battery storage.

“The gradual acceleration of the CFPP retirement will eventually give PLN the opportunity to quickly convert its brown assets into clean and renewable assets, increase productivity, and reduce the risk of abandoned assets,” said Fabby.

Fabby hopes that this study can help the Government of Indonesia and PLN to prepare for the energy transition program, especially in the formation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Nathan Hultman, Director of the Global Sustainability Center, University of Maryland. Nathan explained that each country has a different strategy, but there is a possibility to switch to cleaner energy more quickly. 

“By staying away from non-renewable energy, we will get more benefits in the fields of health, economy and development,” he explained.

Adding, Ryna Yiyun Cui, Assistant Research Professor, Center for Global Sustainability, University of Maryland said that to be compatible with net zero emissions and the global target of 1.5 C, Indonesia must reduce CFPP by 11% by 2030, by 90% by 2040, and completely phase it out in 2045. Furthermore, she stated that the cost of retiring the CFPP was around USD 4.6 billion until 2030. and USD 27.5 billion until 2050. “Cancelling the power purchase agreement (PPA) or the construction of a steam power plant can save up to USD 18.7 billion which can be invested alternatively in renewable energy,” she explained.

Andriah Feby Misna, Director of Aneka New and Renewable Energy, informed that early retirement of PLTU has become the government’s concern towards Net Zero Emission in 2060. She explained that an in-depth study is still needed for the timing of its implementation. She added that according to modeling , the PLTU will still operate until 2056 and if you want to encourage coal retirement in 2045, more in-depth considerations are needed.

“The government is designing a roadmap for early retirement for coal-fired power plants. The hope is that if there is international assistance, it is hoped that it will happen more quickly,” Andriah added.

On the other hand, Sinthya Roesly, Director of Finance and Risk Management, PT PLN Persero said that from a financial perspective, it is necessary to see how far the Indonesian State Budget can absorb the required costs. She added that it is necessary to prepare the market and consider the extent to which private investors will invest.

“(The cost of early retirement for PLTU-ed) is perhaps what we should calculate and look at carefully in the midst of the current oversupply . So now we first handle the over-supply and take or pay and (find) a solution so that the addition of EBT does not add to the cost,” said Sinthya.

ASEAN Must Work Together for Energy Transition

Jakarta, 29 July 2022 – Southeast Asia is a strategic area with the second largest economic growth in Asia after China. Southeast Asia is predicted to continue to develop economically. Energy demand is also predicted to continue to rise. With the condition that fossil energy is still abundant in the Southeast Asian region, joint efforts between countries in Southeast Asia are needed to achieve decarbonization without compromising economic growth.

South Korea and China, which are investors in various fossil projects, especially coal-fired power plants in the Southeast Asia region, have committed to no longer finance PLTU projects abroad in 2021. This commitment is expected to be a signal that will lead to more massive renewable energy investment.

Dongjae Oh, program lead for climate finance, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) in a webinar entitled “The State of Southeast Asia Energy Transition” stated that South Korea’s commitment to no longer finance coal-fired power plants is indeed quite surprising but there are other things that should be wary of related South Korean investment preferences.

“Despite having withdrawn funding for coal-fired power plants, South Korea continues to invest in the oil and gas sector in Southeast Asia with a value of 10 times, namely $127 billion from coal investment of only $10 billion. Indonesia is the largest recipient of oil and gas investment from South Korea,” Dongjae explained.

Dongjae added that gas is considered by the Korean government as a clean alternative energy for the transition period.

China also announced that it would no longer finance overseas coal projects in September 2021. A number of Chinese foreign and domestic policies have changed since then. Isabella Suarez, a researcher at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, explained that the Chinese government has begun to include a clause on the termination of coal financing in their law.

“A number of local Chinese banks are also starting to state that they will no longer finance coal projects,” Isabella added.

The withdrawal of South Korea and China in financing coal-fired power plants is expected to urge ASEAN countries to develop renewable energy more massively.

Meanwhile, the energy transition situation in several Southeast Asian countries still needs a lot of encouragement and incentives.

Handriyanti Diah Puspitarini, a senior researcher at the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), said that the current state of the energy transition in Indonesia is quite slow and not enough to meet the climate mitigation target to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

“If Indonesia doesn’t do something to accelerate the penetration of renewable energy, according to the IESR calculation in 2025 we will only reach 15% renewable energy in the energy mix and 23% in 2030,” explained Handriyanti.

Handriyanti emphasized the importance of the Indonesian government to seek funding models and have consistent political will in Indonesia’s energy transition process, considering that the transition process takes a long time and requires large amounts of funds.

Similar to the situation in Indonesia’s electricity sector, the Philippines is still dominated by fossil energy in its electricity sector. Albert Dalusung, energy transition advisor, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said that the Philippine government is currently focusing on reducing the use of oil in the transportation sector and developing renewable energy.

“The president has stated that renewable energy is at the forefront of the climate agenda, the high price of fossil energy has also made the government change its energy policy,” explained Albert.

Indonesia’s neighboring country, Malaysia, has a target of 31% renewable energy by 2025 and achieves carbon neutral status by 2050. Antony Tan, executive officer (Sustainability & Finance), All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM – SDG), stated that currently Malaysia is optimistic that it can achieve this target.

“However, there are things that need to be improved in energy policy in Malaysia, namely the need for a specific ministry of energy and a more holistic policy to design a more sustainable transportation system,” Antony explained.

Providing Affordable Financing for Energy Transition

Jakarta, 27 June 2022 – Energy transition has been a global concern lately. As the urge to address climate change rises, energy transition becomes one of the key actions in keeping the global temperature. Fossil fuel burning is believed to be one of the biggest pollutants of GHG that causes temperature rises. Therefore, shifting the energy system into a renewable one is essential to cut  polluting emissions. 

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, Arifin Tasrif, in the G20 seminar titled “Unlocking Innovative Financing Scheme and Islamic Finance, to Accelerate a Just Energy Transition in Emerging Economies” said that during this time, energy transition is challenging.

“With the Covid-19 and the escalation of conflict between Ukraine and Russia, energy transition is challenging as well as for Indonesia as the G20 presidency this year,” he said. 

Minister Tasrif added that with a comprehensive strategy, Indonesia can boost energy transition. Financing has become one of the issues as Indonesia needs around 1 trillion USD by 2060 for the energy transition. 

The Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma’ruf Amin encouraged the development of the Islamic bond to fund the energy transition. He also emphasized the role of shariah finance in energy transition.

“One of the potentials to finance the transition is Sukuk/Islamic bonds as an instrument to raise funds from the public for the energy transition. Sukuk innovation and promotion need to be improved so that people are more interested to invest,” Amin said.

At the same event, the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani, explained that Indonesia is currently looking for a strategic way to finance energy transition through various schemes.

“We just launched Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) with ADB to support coal retirement. We will also apply a carbon pricing mechanism for CFPP, as well as develop blended finance. Since 2018 Indonesia successfully issued green sukuk, and it is allocated for the green sector and climate mitigation project,” she concluded.

Sri Mulyani also added that to fulfil Indonesia’s NDC target, the state budget is only able to cover around 34% of the required budget. For the rest, we need to figure out a way, in order to finance the transition. 

The fossil fuel economy has supported Indonesia’s economy for decades. Not only the economy, but the electricity and energy system is also dominated by fossil fuels. No wonder shifting it into a renewable-based system is challenging, not to mention requires huge investment. However we cannot just stay in the fossil-based economy either. Coal demand around the world will be declining as the climate commitment strengthened, and the coal mining region will see the impact soon in 2030. Coal has brought revenue for Indonesia especially for the coal mining region, transforming from coal meaning that we will lose this revenue. This has to be anticipated or else there will be a catastrophic impact on the coal transition.

Fabby Tumiwa, the Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform highlighted that providing sufficient finance for transition is not only addressing the finance issue but also the impact of the energy transition itself. 

“This (providing finance for transition) is a key for Indonesia to reach a just and inclusive transition that leads to equitable development,” Fabby said.

Besides seeking affordable financing, there should be a shift in the behaviour of the financial institution. Indonesia’s financial institutions usually lack the technical ability to assess the risk of renewables projects. Amjad Abdulla, Head of Partnership IRENA, emphasized  this matter.

In terms of moving away from coal, the government needs to calculate how much it can be covered by the just transition mechanism, and how much is left behind so we need to prepare for them; this includes upskilling workers, creating economic diversification, etc.

Udetanshu, Climate Transition Analyst, said that besides the budget that should be prepared, the government also needs to ensure that the local workers who previously worked in the CFPP get new job opportunities.

“If possible, the new plant (that will be renewable) should be built near the old one, to ensure that the workers can be hired locally,” she said.

Preparing the Workforce That Will Be Affected by Reduced Demand of Fossil Energy

Jakarta, July 6, 2022 – The global commitment to reduce the use of fossil energy, as well as the increasing climate ambitions of coal-using countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, the European Union and South Africa have caused global coal demand to fall significantly.

As one of the largest coal exporting countries in the world, Indonesia needs to pay close attention to this. Coal contributes a lot to national non-tax revenues (PNBP), for coal-producing regions, the role of coal commodities for regional income can be very large.

The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) tries to see the implications of the policy of eliminating coal use and the global and domestic climate on the Indonesian economy, especially for workers in the sector through the study “Redefining Future Jobs: Implication of Coal Phase-Out to the Employment Sector and Economic Transformation in Indonesia’s Coal Region”.

This study also aims to see opportunities for economic transformation in coal-dependent areas and provide better welfare for workers. Julius Christian, the author of this study, explained that data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources showed that in 2020 there were 167,380 workers in the coal mining sector. Demographically, these workers are on average under 40 years old, so they will still be of productive age in the next 10 years.

“In terms of the workforce, because most of them are young, there is an opportunity to conduct training in preparation for entering other industries,” said Julius.

Preparing for economic transformation after the coal economy era is full of challenges but must be done. This is to anticipate the demand for coal which could drop more drastically. Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR stated that if the countries of the world had more ambitious climate action to pursue the Paris agreement targets, there would be a 20% reduction in coal demand by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 90% by 2050.

“This decline in production must also be anticipated because it will definitely affect the absorption of labor in the coal sector,” Fabby reminded.

Hendra Sinadia, Executive Director of APBI ICMA (Indonesian Coal Miners Association), also added that to target workers who are potentially affected, it is necessary to map coal reserves by company.

“So that the transformation process is effective and efficient, we can map the reserves for each company so that we can see how long their operating life will be. For small companies, maybe in 2030-2040 their operational period will be finished so it can be prioritized for their workers to receive training,” explained Hendra who was present virtually at the focused group discussion launching the study “Redefining the Future Job”.

Making Room for Renewable Energy

Jakarta, 15 June 2022 – Indonesia has committed to no longer build coal except those already in the contract process. At COP 26, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources said that Indonesia is ready to retire 9.2 GW of coal-fired power plants if there is international assistance. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is targeting old power plants whose efficiency has decreased. To pursue the 23% energy mix by 2025, apart from executing the plan to add renewable energy capacity in the RUPTL, at least 18 GW of solar energy is still needed until 2025 to meet the 23% renewable energy target in the national energy mix.

Another alternative that can be taken is to integrate renewables into the current electricity system by modifying the CFPP to be more flexible. In the latest IESR’s report, entitled Flexible Thermal Power Plant: An Analysis of Operating Coal-Fired Power Plants Flexibly to Enable the High-Level Variable Renewables in Indonesia’s Power System, it is explained that flexible CFPP’s operations can be carried out in Indonesia by retrofitting the CFPP unit first.

The retrofitting process will make the CFPP operation more flexible by reducing the minimum load. This is done to reduce operational costs that arise due to the increase in the start-up/shutdown process as a consequence of the increase in renewable energy variables in the grid. Two countries that have carried out CFPP operations flexibly are Germany and India.

“In Germany the CFPPs being retrofitted are the old ones. One of the strategies taken is to provide incentives for thermal power plants. Meanwhile in India, flexible CFPP operations are still in the pilot project stage, and currently preparing market policy instruments like what has been done in Germany,” explained Raditya Wiranegara, author of the Flexible Thermal Power Plant report.

Raditya added that the cost of generating flexible coal power plants is lower than gas turbine or combine cycle so that it can be considered as an option for generating power in the transition period efficiently and making room for renewable energy.

Bayu Nugroho, Director of Electrical Engineering and Environment, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that it is possible to operate this flexible power plant in Indonesia, but some preparations need to be made beforehand.

“To achieve NZE 2060 we have to make various efforts. One of them that the government is currently preparing is a carbon tax mechanism. This scheme can also be done, we (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources) need to mix everything so that it can run optimally,” explained Bayu in the panel discussion during the report launch.

Arief Sugianto, VP of PLN’s RUPTL Control, stated a number of prerequisites if we want to make the coal fleet in Indonesia operate flexibly.

“First we need to think about what incentives will be given to the CFPP which will be operated flexibly, and who will bear the subsidy,” he said.

Arief added, in the context of PLN, which uses a take or pay scheme in buying and selling electricity with an IPP, it is rather difficult to directly implement this flexible PLTU operation because the initial retrofit costs will burden the government or customers.

With the current state of coal still dominating electricity generation in Indonesia, there are several steps the government can take to increase the renewable energy mix, including reducing coal capacity and operating CFPP flexibly.

“We see that there are 5 GW of old coal capacity (above 35 years) as low-hanging fruit that can be retired immediately, because its efficiency has decreased and is full of emissions,” explained Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR.

Fabby added that operating the CFPP flexibly can open up some space for renewable energy to enter the grid.

Dimitri Pescia, Program Lead Southeast Asia, Agora Energiewende, reminded that flexible coal power plants are not a clean energy source even though they may produce less emissions than ordinary coal power plants.

“Flexible power plant is not a clean energy source, but it provides space for renewables to be  integrated into the grid efficiently, so it can be used as a temporary solution to transition to a renewable energy system,” said Dimitri.

Dimitri further explained that the technology used in flexible CFPP operation is quite complex and still produces emissions, so the carbon price instrument is an important element to maintain a balance and we must immediately switch to a renewable energy system.

IESR: The Use of Rooftop PV in the Business Sector Brings Three Benefits at Once

Semarang, June 14, 2022 – The growing popularity of the climate change issue and environmental sustainability is slowly affecting people’s consumption and spending patterns in various fields from household needs to tourism. A global survey conducted by The Economist shows an increase in spending on sustainable products from year to year from 2016 – 2020. Not only about the product materials/materials that are used as a reference, but also the emissions generated during production. Energy use is a crucial factor that determines the sustainability of a product/service.

Handriyanti Diah Puspitarini, a senior researcher at the Institute for Essential Services Reform, explained that if a business entity uses renewable energy such as rooftop solar panels, there will be three benefits at the same time.

“There are three benefits that can be obtained simultaneously by using rooftop PV, namely energy efficiency, increased reputation (branding) through sustainable business practices, and operational cost savings, which means that the profit obtained will be maximized,” explained Handriyanti.

Handriyanti continued, Indonesia has enormous solar energy potential reaching more than 7,000 GW. In Central Java itself, there is a market potential of 9.8% early followers and early adopters in the business and commercial sectors.

“This group (early followers and early adopters) is a group who already has basic information about rooftop PV, and wants to install it but still needs to be given more comprehensive information and given more attractive financing options such as installment schemes with long tenors and competitive interest,” she said.

Head of the Central Java Energy and Mineral Resources Office, Sujarwanto Dwiatmoko, expressed his support for the business, tourism agency and hotels that are committed to using clean energy, reducing water usage and doing energy efficiency systematically.

“This support and appreciation will be in the form of a certificate that we will hand over to businesses that systematically perform resource efficiency (energy and water) as well as those who install rooftop PV or use renewable energy,” he explained.

Local supermarket network, Aneka Jaya, has seen electricity bill savings of 50-60% per month after installing a rooftop solar power plant in one of its self-service units.

“Due to the pandemic, we have to find ways to be more efficient, one of which is reducing electricity bills. After we found out about PV rooftop, we started surveys and looking for vendors,” explained Indaru Imam Susilo, manager of Aneka Jaya Kalipancur.

Imam continued that his party took a performance-based renting financing scheme in which he did not issue an initial investment, but paid monthly based on the energy produced for 15 years (according to the agreed contract).

Cahyo Danu Sukmo, Sub Coordinator of Tourism Business Development, Youth, Sports and Tourism Office of Central Java Province, said that currently the tourism sector, especially in Central Java, is moving towards sustainable tourism, means the tourism activity is not exploitative and prioritizes the empowerment of local communities.

“We are also starting to focus on developing tourist villages with green tourism guidelines, including following the energy supply guidelines,” explained Cahyo.

The government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources keeps encouraging the use of renewable energy, especially rooftop PV in various sectors. Solar energy has even been included in the national strategic program to pursue the renewable energy mix target of 23% by 2025.

“One of our supports is through the latest policy, namely the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 26/2021 which regulates PLN customers who install rooftop PV,” said Mustaba Ari Suryoko, Coordinator of Business Supervision Services for Various New Energy and Renewable Energy, Directorate General of EBTKE, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Although until now the implementation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree 26/2021 is still facing obstacles, Mustaba stated that his party continues to evaluate and find a win-win solution so that the regulation can be implemented.

Mustaba also stated that his party is collaborating with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to provide incentives for rooftop PV new customers through Sustainable Energy Funds (SEF) grants.

Yovi Rahmawati, from UNDP, explained that this grant is valid for new rooftop PV customers, who start installing in November 2021.

“This program itself is still running until November 2022, the application is submitted via the website and the team will verify it,” said Yovi.

Striving an Early Literacy on Energy Transition

South Tangerang, May 23rd, 2022 – The energy transition is a global agenda whose impact will be felt in the medium-long term. Conducting research, agreement, and policy formulation are various efforts to urge stakeholders to take action in the “present days” that are expected to have an impact on the near future. Of course, in the long term, a fair & just energy transition must be encouraged and implemented to mitigate climate change.

However, have we ever thought that in the future, who will be most affected by the implementation of the energy transition? Of course, the younger generation. Thus, it is only fair to teach them from an early age to understand the concept of the energy transition. Because, in the future, policymakers in 2060, the year Indonesia targets to achieve net-zero emissions, are currently still in school.

As a concrete effort based on this understanding, the Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) project in Indonesia held an activity entitled “Teaching for Future” which was held at Santa Ursula School BSD, specifically for Class IX students. In this activity, CASE seeks to instill an energy transition mindset by initiating discussions and active teaching and learning activities involving students from Santa Ursula School BSD.

This activity done by CASE is in line with the efforts of Santa Ursula BSD School in instilling understanding and education about climate change from an early age as conveyed by Mrs. Irene Rosmawati, the Principal of Santa Ursula BSD School.

“Santa Ursula School actively and systematically provides teaching and learning activities related to climate change and renewable energy issues. It is hoped that students will have an understanding as to the initial capital for their real actions in the future.”

During the Teaching for the Future activity, CASE invited George Hadi Santoso, Vice President of Xurya Daya Indonesia, a company that provides installation and procurement services for rooftop solar panel systems, to directly attend the session and discuss with students of Santa Ursula School.

“I especially appreciate Santa Ursula BSD School and CASE Project who initiated this activity in an effort to support the energy transition process in the long term. I really hope that my presence here can be an inspiration for these youngsters in choosing a career in green jobs in the future,” said George, opening the discussion session in class.

Santa Ursula BSD School is a school that has taken the initiative and is in the process of installing a rooftop Solar Power Plant (PLTS) with a capacity of at least more than 1 Megawatt peak (MWp). CASE Indonesia sees this initiative as a concrete action for schools to support the energy transition in Indonesia. In addition, CASE Indonesia hopes that this initiative can become a real example for students regarding the use of renewable energy and how non-governmental actors can play a role in supporting the energy transition. Coming from the same spirit (real action against climate change), CASE and Xurya also invite students to understand other things that can be done at their age to support the energy transition, such as energy-saving habits.

An interesting finding during the activity was conveyed by Agus Praditya Tampubolon, CASE Program Manager from IESR.

“It is very interesting how junior high school students can think further about the implementation of renewable energy, for example, we were asked about the risk of dependence on imported solar panels if Indonesia uses solar energy intensively. Findings like this, that students can think ahead and beyond, we hope, will be a good sign for Indonesia’s energy transition efforts in the future,” Agus explained at the end of the event.

C20 Indonesia Urge for a Just Energy Transition

Jakarta, 30 June 2022 – Energy transition is one of the priority issues of Indonesia’s 2022 G20 presidency. This role as the leader of the G20 countries is certainly a strategic momentum for Indonesia to show its commitment to the energy transition. The Paris Agreement in 2015 agreed to limit the earth’s temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, even trying to keep it at the level of 1.5 degrees. For this reason, all parties must reduce their emissions from high-emission sectors such as energy and achieve carbon neutral status by the middle of this century.

To explore various perspectives on energy transition, the Civil 20 engagement group held a workshop entitled “Making a Just Energy Transition for All” inviting other engagement groups i.e: Think 20 (T20), Science 20 (S20) and Business 20 (B20). Also present as a panelist, Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja, former governor of Indonesia for OPEC.

From the ongoing discussion, all the speakers agreed to put the human aspect as the axis of the energy transition. Vivian Sunwoo Lee, International Coordinator of C20, said that C20 continues to urge the importance of immediately shifting from fossil-based energy systems to renewable energy-based energy systems.

“There are a number of risks, especially from a financial and economic perspective, from fossil energy infrastructure that has the potential to become a stranded asset if we don’t hurry to make the energy transition,” he said. Vivian also highlighted the large fossil energy subsidies that are still being provided by the G20 countries.

Professor Yunita Winarto, co-chair of Task Force 5 S20 stated the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in planning and implementing energy transitions.

“The interdisciplinary approach will shift the paradigm from exploitative-extractive to environmentally friendly-resilient, from a linear economy to a circular economy, and from good governance to proper governance. That way, a balance will undoubtedly be created according to the principles of the planet, people, & prosperity for all,” Yunita explained.

Moekti H. Soejachmoen, Lead co-chair of Task Force 3 T20, explained the importance of the carbon economic value instrument in the context of energy transition.

“The growth in energy demand will definitely continue to grow. It is inevitable, so we have to look for various ways to fulfill this energy need, but on the other hand our need to reduce emissions is also achieved. So this carbon economic value instrument is important,” explained Moekti.

Moekti also added that it was important for Indonesia to ensure that the issues pushed in this year’s G20 presidency would still be discussed in the following years. Given the energy transition is a long process and takes years.

The energy transition will completely change the face of Indonesia’s energy sector. Oki Muraza, Policy Manager of the Task Force Energy Sustainability and Climate, B20, explained that the affordability factor should be one of the main considerations in making the energy transition.

“We have to ensure that the affordability factor of energy during this transition process can be maintained. In addition, we also need to pay attention to people who are currently working in the hydrocarbon sector, how they can be trained so they don’t lose their jobs in the energy transition,” explained Oki.

Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja reminded that it is necessary to harmonize perceptions, rules and policies at the ministry level related to energy transition and the achievement of Indonesia’s commitments in the international level such as NDC. This is in addition to accelerating the achievement of national and international targets, as well as to give the same signal to investors.

“If the signals sent to investors are mixed, the perception of investors is that the risk of investing in Indonesia is high, and it is not impossible to make them reconsider investing,” said Widhyawan.