Renewable Energy Festival: Encouraging Real Action to Lower Emissions

press release
Fabby Tumiwa, The Executive Director of IESR on Renewable Energy Festival

Jakarta, April 21, 2024 – The increase in global temperature due to increased greenhouse gas emissions has an impact on the climate crisis which triggers an increase in the intensity of hydrometeorological disasters. Based on data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the earth’s average temperature in 2014-2023 has been at 1.2 -1.3 degrees Celsius above the average of 1850-1900. Efforts to limit the earth’s temperature so as not to cross the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius need to be seriously encouraged by actions and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of commemorating Earth Day and increasing public understanding for action to reduce emissions, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), a think tank in the field of renewable energy and the environment, held a Renewable Energy Festival on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Through this festival, IESR invites the public to contribute to personal emission reduction actions and encourage the use of renewable energy to mitigate global temperature rise. The festival included three events consisting of a low-emission fun walk, a seminar and a presentation on renewable energy. Around 108 participants were involved in this event.

Fabby Tumiwa, the Executive Director of IESR, said that the Renewable Energy Festival is an effort to mobilize concrete actions to support the energy transition in Indonesia in order to achieve the zero-emission target in 2060 or sooner.

“The community plays a big role as a pioneer of the use of renewable energy and an ambassador who voices the importance of Indonesia’s renewable energy. Thus, it can encourage policies that support the development of renewable energy. In addition, public awareness of emission reduction will also make people more responsible in using energy through energy savings,” said Fabby.

Fabby added that proper public understanding of renewable energy will encourage greater public involvement in reducing personal and national scale emissions.

Real individual actions in reducing emissions encouraged in this event include using energy sparingly, relying on public transportation or electric vehicles that have minimal emissions and using renewable energy such as solar energy.

Marlistya Citraningrum, Program Manager of Sustainable Energy Access, said that collaboration between the government, civil society communities, academics and stakeholders will strengthen joint efforts to reduce emissions more quickly and massively.

“With collaboration, we can reach out to a wider community in Indonesia and spread the spirit to play a role in creating momentum to accelerate the energy transition and realize a zero-emission Indonesia,” said Marlistya.

Request for Proposal (RFP) Strategic Communication and Advocacy Plan in Promoting Low Carbon Solutions Adoption for Indonesia’s Large Industries & Small-Medium Industries

Background

Achieving the national economic development targets in 2045 would drive capacity expansion in several key industries in Indonesia, such as iron and steel, cement, ammonia, pulp and paper, and textile industries. According to the latest IESR study, the five industries are responsible for about one-third of the national industry emissions in 2020 or about 102 MtCO2. This is because many of those industry players use outdated production technologies that work inefficiently and consume fossil fuels either as feedstock or fuel sources. In other cases, the industry plan its capacity expansion utilizing the carbon-intensive technology which could create emission lock-in for decades to come. Also, the currently low adoption of sustainable raw feedstock materials in cement, iron and steel, and papermaking industries drive the emissions to increase its emission by an additional 50 MtCO2 per year by 2050, and collectively with other industry subsectors, will increase the sector emissions to double in the same year.

Other than that, with the industry and commercial sectors’ landscape in Indonesia are dominated by smaller businesses of about 99%, it is also imperative to consider these smaller businesses’ role in Indonesia’s emissions portfolio. From the IESR study, it has been revealed that with the number of MSMEs reaching 65 million businesses in 2021, the least approximation of total estimated energy-related emissions could reach up to 216 MtCO2 per year in 2023, or about half of the industry sector’s emissions, including emissions generated from burning fuel, industry processes, and waste. Such high CO2 emissions are caused largely due to the very low understanding of MSME actors on how to implement energy efficiency measures as well as the lack of financial and technical capacities to tap into renewable fuel and electricity to support their businesses.

Understanding the timely urgency of decarbonizing industries of all sizes, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) intends to formulate a strategic communication and advocacy plan to increase public awareness on the topic and drive the industry’s transformational change and increase the adoption of lower carbon technology and sustainable practices among large industries and SMEs. It is expected that the consultant develops the communication and advocacy plan following the Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART) principle with at least a one-year timeframe. The successful consultant will provide input on methods, content, and implementation strategies. The strategy must include the use of online tools and new media outlets, including IESR’s existing social media accounts and website.

Requirement

  1. Proposal
  2. Mandatory required documents
    • Statement Letter of Compliance with Pre-Qualification Provisions
    • Statement Letter of Not Involvement in Probitied Organizations
    • Statement Letter of Not Claiming Compensation
    • Business Entity Qualification Form
    • Statement Letter Not Under Court Supervision
    • Expression of Interest
    • Statement of Willingness to Deploy Personnel and Equipment
    • Statement of Overall Commitment
    • Field Capability Statement Letter
    • Statement of Authenticity of the Document
    • Integrity Pact

All required documents can be downloaded through this link (s.id/documentsrfpcommsiesr), and expected to be received to IESR until 10:00 p.m. Indonesian Western Standard Time (WIB, GMT+0700) on Friday, 19 April 2024. Any proposals received after this date and time will be regarded as inadmissible. All proposals must be signed by an expert, official agent, or company representative submitting the proposal.

Proposals will be accepted until 10:00 p.m. Indonesian Western Standard Time (WIB, GMT+0700) on Friday, 19 April 2024. Kindly address the Program Manager Energy Transformation IESR at deon@iesr.or.id and the Coordinator of Industrial Decarbonization Project at faricha@iesr.or.id for inquiries. 

For more detail :

RFP-IESR-Strategic-Communication-and-Advocacy-Plan-in-Promoting-Low-Carbon-Solutions-Adoption-for-Indonesias-Large-and-Small-Medium-Industries.docx-1

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Building Low-Emission Cities in Indonesia

Jakarta, April 2 2024 – Urban areas are centers of carbon-intensive activities. High population, dense buildings and intensive energy use contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Transparency 2022 noted that direct and indirect emissions from the building sector in Indonesia accounted for 4.6 per cent and 24.5 per cent of total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2021, respectively. For this reason, the decarbonization of urban areas is one of the crucial efforts to reduce carbon emissions and create sustainable areas, by the Paris Agreement to achieve zero carbon emission targets.

The Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz/BMWK) and supported by various other ministries by the recommendations of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources agreed to support urban decarbonization efforts through the Sustainable Energy Transition in Indonesia (SETI) program. This program involves consortium members consisting of Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Indonesia, Yayasan Indonesia Cerah, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), and WRI Indonesia.

Malindo Wardana, Program Manager of Sustainable Energy Transition in Indonesia (SETI), Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), explained that one of the important initiatives of SETI is the Urban Energy Lab. The Urban Energy Lab aims to develop a sustainable local energy ecosystem in urban areas, especially in selected cities. It aims to support a better and more sustainable built environment.

“The selection criteria for the cities that will become SETI projects include the potential for renewable energy in the region, existing sustainability programs, and the willingness of the cities to implement energy decarbonization in the building sector,” Malindo said.

Malindo in the SETI Urban Energy Lab Focus Group Discussion event held on Tuesday (2/4/2024) said, the process of determining the pilot city for the SETI program through the stage of forming a network of potential cities. Cities that are members of the potential city network will then be selected by the Directorate General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources & the SETI consortium as pilot cities. These pilot cities will receive additional support in the form of matchmaking activities between building owners/managers and energy service companies, capacity building such as energy manager/energy auditor certification, integrated energy planning modeling, and energy conservation.

Coordinator of the Energy Conservation Technical Guidance and Cooperation Group, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hendro Gunawan said that the government has revised Government Regulation (PP) No. 70 of 2009 into Government Regulation (PP) No. 33 of 2023 concerning Energy Conservation which is a concrete step by the government to regulate the use of energy that is economical, rational and wise. In this regulation, the building sector with an energy use limit of more than or equal to 500 TOE (Ton Oil Equivalent) per year is obliged to carry out energy management. 

 

“Local governments also should implement energy management in buildings that are owned, managed and financed through the state revenue and expenditure budget (APBN) or regional revenue and expenditure budget (APBD),” Hendro said. 

Hendro also mentioned the existence of rules that strengthen the authority of provincial regions in utilizing renewable energy in the regions through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 11 of 2023 concerning Additional Concurrent Government Affairs in the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Sector in the New Renewable Energy Sub-Sector. 

He hopes that the existence of these regulations and the implementation of the SETI program will be able to support local governments in implementing energy efficiency in buildings, as well as efforts to increase the use of renewable energy in buildings, to reduce the impact of climate change and build a sustainable environment.

Encouraging Industrial Decarbonization Starting from Consumer Lifestyle

Jakarta, 22 March 2024 – The increase of the earth’s temperature is an inevitable phenomenon as a result of various natural events and human activities and lifestyles which produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as the cause of the rise in the earth’s temperature.

The invention of the steam engine in 1880 made monumental changes to human life with the beginning of industrialization. The development of industry has been accompanied by increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2022 recorded an increase in earth temperature of 1.1 degrees Celsius. This is a warning for humanity to immediately take steps to control temperature rise to prevent the temperature increase from reaching no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Faricha Hidayati, Coordinator of the Industrial Decarbonization Project, Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) explained that rising earth temperatures could trigger hydrometeorological disasters, one of which will be at an increasingly high frequency.

“Apart from environmental problems, another side impact is health costs which will rise along with the increase in disease, especially those that attack vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children and poor households,” explained Faricha.

Even though it is one of the sectors causing increased GHG emissions, the industrial sector has a significant economic contribution. So strategic steps and efforts are needed to decarbonize the industrial sector.

In 2021, industrial sector emissions will be the second largest emitting sector after electricity generation. If we continue to use the business as usual scheme without any intervention, the value of emissions in the industrial sector will double by 2050.

“The industrial sector contributes to emissions of more than 300 million tons of CO2 in 2021, with the highest source of emissions from the use of fossil fuels as an energy source,” added Faricha.

Even though there are regulations that encourage industry to practice sustainable principles, their implementation is not yet mandatory. Even for industries that independently have the initiative to implement sustainable principles, there is no incentive system for them.

Faricha continued, apart from through policy advocacy to the government, consumers can contribute, one of the ways is by choosing products that are produced with sustainable principles. Consumers can also demand that producers or industries start implementing sustainable principles in their production processes.

Embarking on the Decarbonization Journey of the Steel Industry

Jakarta, 20 March 2024 – The industrial sector is one of the important sectors for reducing emissions. The large energy consumption and its significant contribution to the economy in 2022 amounting to 16.48 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are strong reasons to make this sector more sustainable. Industries with high energy needs, such as the iron and steel industry, require strategic preparation to carry out decarbonization.

Indonesia is one of the largest steel producing countries in Southeast Asia, and ranks number 15 steel producers in the world. In 2023, Indonesia’s steel production capacity will reach 16 million tonnes and is estimated to reach 33-35 million tonnes in 2030.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in the webinar “Accelerating the Transformation of the Steel Industry in Southeast Asia: Indonesia Chapter” stated that Indonesian steel production still has high emissions.

“Indonesia’s projected steel demand is predicted to increase. If we don’t take serious decarbonization steps, emissions from the steel industry will also continue to increase,” said Fabby.

We also face international market demands to produce lower carbon steel. For example, the European Union has implemented the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which, effective in 2026, will have a negative effect on the exports of the Indonesian steel industry. For this reason, the steel industry needs to undergo transformation.

Farid Wijaya, Senior Analyst at IESR, explained that decarbonization for the steel industry will bring prospects for economic growth, although currently there are still quite a lot of challenges.

“Green industrial standards can be one way to encourage environmentally friendly industries. Green standards for steel have only recently been established and are still limited to sheet steel per layer. “Currently there is no steel industry that has received a green certificate due to implementation limitations,” said Farid.

Kajol, Program Manager for Climate Neutral Industry Southeast Asia, Agora Industry, added that currently almost 80% of steel production is carried out through blast furnace technology.

“We have to start thinking about better and modern technology to replace blast furnaces. “When the blast furnace facilities currently operating start to become less efficient in 2030-2040, we must replace them with more modern technology and no longer invest in blast furnaces,” she explained.

One of the technologies Kajol refers to is Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) which can produce primary steel using natural gas or clean hydrogen. Iron ore is reduced to produce DRI, which can then be melted in an electric arc furnace (EAF) to produce primary steel.

Viable strategies for decarbonizing the steel industry include direct and indirect use of renewable energy, resource efficiency and circular economy, and closing the carbon cycle.

Helenna Ariesty, Sustainability Manager of PT Gunung Raja Paksi (GRP) as an industry player emphasized the importance of regulatory certainty in encouraging industrial decarbonization.

“We face several challenges to navigate the inconsistent policy direction. Apart from that, access to funding is affordable considering the initial investment required is significant,” Helenna said.

Joseph Cordonnier, Industrial Policy Analyst, OECD agrees that policy and access to funding will be key framework components for building a supporting ecosystem for industrial decarbonization.

“As part of this framework we also have to really look at how to maximize the utilization of existing assets based on engineering variables, energy efficiency and emission reduction of these assets,” said Joseph.

Fausan Arif Darmaji, Infrastructure Development Analyst, Green Industry Center, Ministry of Industry said the government is aware of the need to reduce emissions from Indonesian steel production.

“The steel sector is also our current focus. “While we are waiting for the policy regulations that are currently being made, we are providing training on GHG calculations for the steel sector, as well as calculating the economic value of carbon,” said Fausan.

Deon Arinaldo, IESR Energy Transformation Program Manager closed this webinar by underlining the need for industrial decarbonization as an effort to remain relevant to the demands of industrial development.

“Currently decarbonization in the industrial sector is still considered a challenge. Not only in Indonesia, but also a global phenomenon. “We must anticipate this trend because decarbonization is inevitable,” said Deon.

Kompas | When can Indonesia Rely on Renewable Energy?

The transition from fossil energy to low-emission energy is non-negotiable. It’s not about following global trends, but about the earth and its life in the future. However, the question arises when Indonesia can really rely on renewable energy? Because, even though we are blessed with abundant renewable energy potential, access is not easy and the price is not cheap.

Read more on Kompas.