Lack of Encouragement for Energy Transition Acceleration from the Three Candidates during the Vice Presidential Debate

Jakarta, January 23, 2024 – The second vice presidential candidate debate, on Sunday (21/1/2024), raised the issue of sustainable development, natural resources, environment, energy, food, agriculture, indigenous peoples, and villages, drawing public attention. Various attack games and mutual insinuations marred the debate.

The Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) and panelist of the second vice presidential debate, Fabby Tumiwa, assessed that the fourth debate of the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres) had not prioritized content primarily related to the energy transition. This makes several vital issues related to the economy and the environment far from serious discussion.

“In my opinion, many candidates did not understand the panelists’ questions that the moderator read out. They did not seem to respond to the questions appropriately, and during the question and answer session, the vice president seemed to give insubstantial questions. Thus, I see that the three vice presidential candidates have not debated (debate ideas-ed), “said Fabby Tumiwa in the Kompas TV Special Report program on Tuesday (23/1/2024).

 

Fabby stated that the hot debate between the vice presidential candidates at the Jakarta Convention Center had also yet to discuss essential issues. This cannot be separated from the discussion format, which does not support exploring ideas effectively enough.

Vice Presidential Statement on Debate

The three vice presidential candidates in the second debate had similar views on the transition to green energy. Muhaimin Iskandar, the first Vice Presidential candidate, assesses that the current government’s commitment is not serious in carrying out the energy transition, as shown by the reduction in the target of new renewable energy (NRE) and the delay in carbon tax. For this reason, Muhaimin is committed to accelerating the carbon tax implementation while carrying out the NRE transition.

Vice Presidential candidate number 2, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, said that an equitable low-carbon development policy must stop dependence on fossil energy.

On the other hand, the third Vice Presidential candidate, Mahfud MD, only addressed the issue of resolving natural resources and energy, emphasizing the need for a thorough resolution from upstream to downstream

To find out the facts behind the statements of the three vice presidential candidates at the debate, IESR has held a Live Fact Check of the Vice Presidential Debate via Twitter, which can be accessed on IESR Twitter.

Launch of Indonesia’s Climate Action Tracker Assessment Report and Climate Transparency Implementation Checkup

“State of Indonesia’s Climate Policy 2023: Expectations for Increased Ambition and Strengthened Implementation to Achieve the Paris Agreement Targets by 2030”

Replay Event

Background

The year 2023 was recorded as one of the hottest years on record, with global temperatures rising by 1.4 degrees Celsius since the pre-industrial era. In the first global stocktake carried out during the COP-28 Dubai event, the United Arab Emirates also stated that policies and actions taken by countries in the world are still unable to reduce the rate of increase in emissions in line with the Paris Agreement targets. The Global Stocktake results show that based on the current accumulation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), there are still around 20.3–23.9 GtCOe2 emissions that need to be reduced to prevent a temperature rise above 1.5C by 2030. Thus, more ambitious climate policies and actions at the national level play an important role in the global effort to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.

In the context of climate policy in Indonesia, data from the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) as of December 2023 shows that Indonesia still needs to reduce around 800 MtCOe2 in 2030 emissions to align its emission reduction target with the Paris Agreement (CAT, 2023). The operationalization of new coal power plants as well as the quantification of emissions from off-grid generation caused Indonesia’s emissions to rise by around 21% in 2022 (CAT, 2023). This results in Indonesia’s emissions being projected to increase by around 300 MtCO2 by 2030. Based on CAT’s assessment, Indonesia needs to increase the percentage of the renewable energy mix by around 55%–80% by 2030. Therefore, Indonesia needs to re-evaluate the climate targets contained in its NDC and also improve coordination between sectors in order to accelerate the achievement of the Paris Agreement targets.

Indonesia will experience a change of government in 2024. With this change, there is a possibility that the policy direction of the new government will be different from the previous government. It is hoped that the new government will be able to formulate a more ambitious and comprehensive climate policy umbrella so that it can support the achievement of the Paris Agreement targets and remain in line with the country’s development plan. Publication of Climate Action Tracker Country Assessment: Indonesia and Climate Transparency Implementation Check The report is expected to be a reference for recommendations for policymakers in order to harmonize climate policies at the national level and also commitments at the global level. In addition, the dissemination of these two reports is also expected to open a discussion space for the public to provide feedback and recommendations on climate policy in Indonesia.

Objective 

  1. Dissemination of the Climate Action Tracker report: Indonesia Climate Action Status 2023 to stakeholders and the general public;
  2. Facilitate discussions on the implementation of climate policies in the electricity, financing, and AFOLU sectors;
  3. Become a cross-sector discussion space for the government as a policy maker, civil society organizations, academics, and the general public in order to realize climate policy and energy transition in Indonesia in line with the Paris Agreement targets;
  4. A means of gathering opinions and inputs from various levels of society and sectors, which can be used as recommendations for climate and energy transition policies in Indonesia.

Presentation

 

Status of Indonesia’s Climate Action and Policy 2023- Delima Ramadhani

Status-Aksi-dan-Kebijakan-Iklim-Indonesia-2023-Delima-Ramadhani

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Renewable Energy Development in Indonesia Power Sector – Akbar Bagaskara

Renewable-Energy-Development-in-Indonesia-Power-Sector-Akbar-Bagaskara

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Increasing AFOLU Sector Climate Ambition Towards Net Sink 2030 – Yosi Amelia

Peningkatan-Ambisi-Iklim-Sektor-AFOLU-Menuju-Net-Sink-2030-Yosi-Amelia

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Landscape of Climate-Aligned Investment in Indonesia Financial Sector – Luthfyana Larasati

Landscape-of-Climate-Aligned-Investment-in-Indonesia-Financial-Sector-Luthfyana-Larasati

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Comprehensive Action for Indonesia’s Energy Transition

Jakarta, 12 December 2023 – The energy transition journey in Indonesia in 2023 is entering a consolidation phase, which means that a number of policies that emerged in the 2020-2023 period need to be synchronized so that their implementation can accelerate steps towards one big goal, namely limiting the increase in earth’s temperature to level 1 .5 degrees Celsius aligned with the Paris Agreement pathway.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), in an online media briefing (12/12) held by IESR, stated that there are a number of enabling conditions that determine the success of the energy transition.

“There are 4 enabling conditions for a successful energy transition, namely, policy & regulatory framework, funding & investment support, technology application, as well as social impact & community support,” said Fabby.

Fabby also added that there have been a number of energy transition initiatives since 2020, such as RUPTL 2021, the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) agreement, and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). The existence of these various agreements is good considering that until 2020, there were no regulations regarding the energy transition, but the most important thing is the implementation of these various policies.

Pintoko Aji, IESR renewable energy analyst, said that the energy transition (in Indonesia) must be carried out comprehensively in all sectors, not limited to the power sector alone.

“The ultimate goal of this energy transition is to reduce emissions, so energy transition efforts must be comprehensive, not limited to the power sector alone. Industry and transportation, for example, also need to start working on it because currently there are not many concrete (actionable) policies in that sector,” said Pintoko.

Yunus Saefulhak, Head of the Energy Policy and Conference Facilitation Bureau, National Energy Council (DEN), in the same forum also explained that currently DEN is working on a revision of the National Energy Policy (Kebijakan Energi Nasional, KEN) to align various national targets with developments in international energy transition commitments and the strategy.

“This revision is urgent to carry out because energy policy needs to be in line with climate change policy, and a grand national energy strategy has also been prepared as input for KEN & RUEN updates,” said Yunus.

One of the KEN renewal points is that the new renewable energy mix in 2025 will reach 17 – 19 percent, and in 2060 it will reach 70-72 percent.

Various policy developments and adjusted targets need to be continuously monitored and guarded. The Institute for Essential Services Reform has monitored various developments in the Indonesian energy sector since 2017 and outlined them in a main report entitled Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook. In 2023, IESR will return and launch the Indonesia Energy Transition Outlook 2024 report, on December 15 2023. Follow the launch either in person (limited capacity) or online by registering at s.id/IETO2024

The Modal Share of Indonesia’s Transportation Requires Strong Push from the Government

Dekarbonisasi sektor transportasi Indonesia

Jakarta, 5 December 2023 – Since 2021 the transportation sector in Indonesia has been ranked as the second highest emitter, displacing industry. Many emissions from the transportation sector are caused by burning fuel, which is the main energy source for vehicles. With projected economic growth and development plans, it is predicted that emissions from the Indonesia’s transportation sector will continue to increase. As an effort to strengthen climate change mitigation actions, decarbonization of the transportation sector is important.

Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) in the webinar entitled “Dissemination of Indonesia’s Transportation Decarbonization Roadmap”, (5/12) emphasized that to ensure each climate change mitigation actions are in line with the Paris Agreement, emission reduction targets must be calculated not just based on percentages but also taking into account alignment with Paris targets.

“IESR carries out modeling to find policies and steps that can be taken to increase Indonesia’s climate change mitigation actions, especially in the transportation sector,” said Fabby.

The draft transportation decarbonization roadmap focuses on two scales, namely the national and regional scales (Jabodetabek).

IESR sustainable mobility analyst, Rahmi Puspita Sari added that the increase in private vehicle ownership, especially motorbikes, has been one of the factors causing increased emissions from the transportation sector.

“With various types of demand growth and the choice of mode still being private transport, this has an impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. “Most of the GHG emissions come from passenger transportation (73%), and followed by land transportation (27%),” said Rahmi.

Fauzan Ahmad, member of the Tasrif Modeling Team, who participated in modeling the transportation decarbonization road map, explained one of the main findings from this simulation, namely that in the Avoid, Shift, Improve (ASI) scheme, which is quite common for transportation management, there is potential for reducing emissions up to 18% by avoiding travel by implementing a work from home (WFH) system.

“Actually, only 8% of the total workers can work from home, of this 8% potential, currently only around 1% of workers work from home. If this potential is maximized, we can reduce emissions even more by the number of trips avoided,” said Fauzan.

Fauzan also added that the choice to review transportation patterns in Jabodetabek was because Jabodetabek was considered as a unified area that interacts with each other.

Arij Ashari Nur Iman, a modeler from the Tasrif Modeling Team, added that with the current condition of the transportation system, the most effective solution for decarbonizing the transportation sector is to divide passenger loads into various modes (mode share).

“Electric vehicles will have a big impact on the goal of reducing emissions, but two conditions must be achieved to have an impact on a national scale, namely increasing the sales share of electric vehicles and creating a policy framework that supports the discard rate of ICE vehicles. Modal shifting to public transportation will be a sustainable solution in the context of fuel and resource use, but requires large initial investment,” explained Arij.

Professor of civil engineering at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Agus Taufik Mulyono, stated that the Indonesian government still does not have the courage to create (transportation) policies that encourage share modes.

“This share mode issue must be regulated by the government in law, currently there is no law. This study is good, because when more advanced modes of sharing are deemed difficult, then both are still road transportation, but shared between spaces,” he said.

Agus also reminded of implementation challenges if the recommendations of this study were adopted in the form of policies or regulations.

In line with Agus, Alloysius Joko Purwanto, Research and Development Commission, Jakarta City Transportation Council also highlighted the use of public transportation which should be further encouraged.

“Current policies have the potential to cause contradictions, such as the electric vehicle incentive policy, which on one hand has the potential to increase private vehicle ownership rates and has the potential to increase traffic jams because the discard rate for ICE vehicles is still low,” said Joko.

The use of biofuels is also included in the transportation decarbonization roadmap modeling. Edi Wibowo, Director of Bioenergy, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that the results of this study are broadly in line with Indonesia’s energy transition road map which will generally add renewable energy capacity to power plants and other sectors will also follow to shift to a more efficient system like such as biofuel.

“We (at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources) continue to develop biofuels, currently we are testing the application of Biodiesel B40 and if the process goes smoothly in 2026 it will start to be used. This (development) effort is a form of real support for Indonesia’s energy transition plan,” said Edi.

Gonggomtua E. Sitanggang, Director, ITDP Indonesia emphasized the importance of public communication to raise awareness among the public. When the public has sufficient awareness and knowledge about the importance of a low-emission transportation system, it will be easier to involve and mobilize them to slowly reduce their dependence on the use of private vehicles.

“Apart from that, it is also important to look at the relationship between the national government and regional governments. What needs to be underlined is our laws and regulations relating to regional autonomy (otonomi daerah), where the one who has the budget and authority is the regional government, while transportation has not yet become one of the KPIs (key performance indicators) for regional leaders. As a result, the budget for the transportation sector is very minimal,” said Gonggom.

Accelerating Renewable Energy in Central Java

Central Java plans to further develop renewable energy, with the Institute for Essential Services Reform actively collaborating on long-term planning. The Institute, together with the Central Java Government, organizes forums and activities such as “Central Java Renewable Energy Acceleration” to deepen understanding and encourage multi-stakeholder participation in the region’s energy transition.

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