Koran Jakarta | Indonesia Must Continue to Intensify the Development of Solar PV

The operation of  Cirata floating photovoltaic (PV) power plant, West Java, is a milestone in the acceleration of solar PV development to decarbonize electricity in Indonesia. Going forward, Indonesia must optimize the potential of solar PV to support the achievement of the electricity sector’s peak emission target in 2030, at the lowest cost.

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Indonesia’s Energy Transformation to Zero Emission

Fabby Tumiwa dalam acara Green Press Community 2023 pada Rabu (8/11/2023).

Jakarta, November 8, 2023 – The global climate crisis is humanity’s biggest challenge in the 21st century. The increase in global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions is causing severe impacts such as extreme weather, increased extreme temperatures, rising sea levels, and harm to ecosystems. Indonesia, as one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement, has committed to reducing emissions. Indonesia has also submitted an Enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) document by increasing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target by about 2%. Previously in the Updated NDC, the unconditional emission reduction target was 29% to 31.89% by 2030, and with international assistance (conditional) it rose from 41% to 43.2%.

Reflecting on Indonesia’s latest ENDC, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Fabby Tumiwa, explained that Indonesia’s climate target is not compatible with the ambition of the Paris Agreement to maintain the earth’s temperature rise at a level of 1.5C, and does not reflect the urgency of avoiding climate change whose impacts are now sweeping across the world.

“Based on the assessment conducted by Climate Action Tracker (CAT), Indonesia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target is considered highly insufficient, leading to 2.4ºC. To be compatible, Indonesia’s GHG emissions must reach 850 MtCO2 in 2030 and NZE in 2050-2060. To do this, we need to reduce emissions in the energy sector more ambitiously,” explained Fabby Tumiwa at the Green Press Community 2023 event on Wednesday (8/11/2023). 

 

Fabby said that accelerating the use of renewable energy plays a key role in reducing GHG emissions. Based on an IESR study titled Beyond 443 GW Indonesia’s Infinite Renewable Energy Potentials, the technical potential of renewable energy in Indonesia reaches nearly 8,000 GW, with solar energy having the largest potential of around 6,700-7,700 GW. However, the energy transition requires regulatory, techno-economic, investment, and social support.

 

“This huge potential, if utilized optimally, will be able to meet all energy needs in Indonesia. IESR has projected that the country will require 1600 GW of energy capacity by 2050. However, this requirement can be met through 100% renewable energy sources, ultimately leading to zero emissions by 2050,” said Fabby Tumiwa. 

 

The energy transition can increase renewable energy capacity and create new opportunities and an equitable and inclusive energy transformation. Moreover, decarbonization and renewable energy technologies have become cheaper and more affordable. For this reason, Fabby encourages the government to immediately make a more ambitious plan to prevent the climate crisis in Indonesia.

Energy Conservation Actions Still Become Homework for Indonesia’s Decarbonization

Jakarta, 12 October 2023 – Energy conservation is one of the decarbonization efforts that can be carried out with minimal costs and relatively less effort than building new power plants. Unfortunately, this effort is still the second priority in Indonesia’s decarbonization agenda.

In order to encourage the acceleration of energy conservation actions, the government issued Government Regulation no. 33 of 2023 which regulates energy conservation in various sectors. Tavip Rubiyanto, Head of ESDM Subdivision, Directorate of Synchronization of Regional Government Affairs I, Directorate General of Regional Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, explained that Indonesia’s energy needs will continue to increase along with the increase in population and per capita economic growth.

According to him, the Indonesian government has made an international commitment to limit the release of greenhouse gasses and continue to increase renewable energy capacity. However, this plan is still hampered by the large initial investment.

“In PP 33/2023, we give a mandate to local governments, business entities, communities and the private sector to take part in energy conservation actions,” said Tavip in a focused group discussion held by the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) on Thursday, October 12th 2023.

Tavip added that the regulation of authority for regional governments is expected to provide sufficient space for regional governments to propose and implement energy conservation programs.

Coordinator of the Technical Guidance and Energy Conservation Cooperation Group, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hendro Gunawan, explained that it is important for an entity to carry out energy management.

“For the private and industrial sectors, we have even reached certification such as ISO 50001 (industrial management) because apart from improving branding, it is also a kind of requirement to continue to exist in the industry,” said Hendro.

Regarding the basis for implementing energy management which is still voluntary, Iwan Prijanto, chairperson of the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI), emphasized the importance of incentive schemes for building owners who will carry out green building certification. Especially for office building owners as the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

“I actually feel sad, because the first building was certified in 2011, and additions are very slow. “The absence of incentives or disincentives for building owners is one of the reasons for the slow growth of green buildings,” explained Iwan.

Dyah Perwitasari, Junior Planner at the Ministry of Bappenas, who was present at the discussion, also highlighted the standards for successful energy conservation that need to be considered together.

“Apart from achieving standards that we need to think about again, communication or outreach about energy savings to the public is also very important, for example energy saving label indicators on electronic devices used in the household,” he said.

Koran Jakarta | Triggering Various Diseases, Air Pollution in Jakarta is Becoming More Concerning

Residents in the Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) areas are urged to be vigilant about the dangers of pollution as it has the potential to cause various diseases. Jakarta itself has consistently been the most polluted city in the world recently due to the presence of coal-fired power plants and uncontrolled motor vehicle emissions.

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Kompas | Indonesia’s Target for Reducing Emissions is Insufficient to Combat Global Warming

Indonesia’s emission reduction target is critically insufficient, aka very far from enough to reduce global warming. Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Fabby Tumiwa, said there needed to be a more significant gap between the current policies and emission levels compatible with the Paris Agreement.

Read more on Kompas.