By Sisilia Nurmala Dewi
With UN climate talks forging ahead this month anchored on a landmark agreement to phase out fossil fuels, it seems unjustifiable that Indonesia’s new government is betting its energy future on the very resources the world has pledged to abandon.
President Prabowo’s push for “energy independence” through expanded oil and gas drilling not only threatens to undermine global climate goals–it also chains Southeast Asia’s largest economy to a destructive energy source the world has committed to leave behind, raising questions about Prabowo’s rhetoric of becoming a ‘green energy superpower.’
Energy self-sufficiency is a lofty but highly achievable goal for Indonesia. Blessed with rich natural resources, it has enough renewable energy potential–especially sun, water, and wind power–to power up households and industries without relying on fossil fuel imports. Estimates suggest that we are using less than a fraction or 0.3% of our total renewable energy potential. Renewables account for just 13% of the energy mix, which is still overwhelmingly dominated by coal, oil, and gas. But instead of aiming for an ambitious and forward-looking plan to transition away from fossil fuels and maximize the country’s massive renewable energy potential, the Indonesian government has even reduced its national renewable target from 23% of total energy to 17% to 19% by 2025.
Indonesia has one of the world’s largest emissions from burning fossil fuels due to a massive coal industry which the government continues to prop up not just as a source of energy, but economic growth.
Indonesia has one of the world’s largest emissions from burning fossil fuels due to a massive coal industry which the government continues to prop up not just as a source of energy, but economic growth. But the reality is that this ‘growth’ has largely pertained to the wealth and power of business elites, while many communities are left to suffer the toxic impacts of coal power plants. Oil and gas exploration projects are now being revived by the Prabowo administration by loosening regulations and other incentives that place even more communities at risk–along with the country’s ambition to attain net-zero emissions in the power sector by 2050.
The irony is that we are now burning more fossil fuels than ever, with coal emissions growing faster than any other country. This is attributed to the untrammeled growth of the nickel industry in recent years. As a matter of government’s strategic priority, Indonesia is now the world’s top producer of nickel, a key element in batteries used in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. But firing up new coal plants to supply the world with a mineral critical to the shift to renewables defeats the essence of a just transition. Rather than charting a path towards real independence–wherein the country utilizes its vast resources for the betterment of its citizens and protection of the environment–going down the usual route of competing in profit-oriented global value chains exacts a high price: intensified pollution, climate impacts, and exploitation in affected communities.
Ramping up expensive fossil fuel production is also a drain on public resources. As much as 94% of energy subsidies, amounting to hundreds of trillions of rupiahs each year, are allocated to fossil fuels, while a mere 1% go to renewable energy subsidies. Most of those subsidies supported fossil fuel companies, not consumers.
As much as 94% of energy subsidies, amounting to hundreds of trillions of rupiahs each year, are allocated to fossil fuels, while a mere 1% go to renewable energy subsidies.
As crucial global climate negotiations and the deadline to submit national climate goals or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) approach, Prabowo should be using the opportunity to make clear and bold pronouncements on reducing GHG emissions and tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, as committed by G20 countries last year. Instead, it is mirroring policies of the past administration, which avoided committing to phase out fossil fuels and provided industry concessions, such as allowing faith groups to operate coal companies. Indeed, the country’s proposed Second NDCs fail to mention fossil fuels phaseout and include a slew of ‘false solutions’ such as carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, and gas.
Ask the Indonesian government
to triple renewable energy by 2030!
Plans under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which aims to leverage finance from rich countries to decarbonize Indonesia’s economy, have also failed expectations. The JETP’s Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan aims to retire only 1.7 GW of coal power plants. This is a pittance considering the 50 GW coal energy capacity, as well as an additional 23.5 GW of new coal plants still in the pipeline. Worse, less than 2% of climate financing under the JETP are in the form of grants; the rest are loans that saddle our country with additional debt servicing obligations and jeopardize our bid for economic independence.
Energy independence must be sustainable and based on the needs and interests of citizens as well as frontline communities of small farmers, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples who protect our natural resources–our only lifeline in a planet that is rapidly heating up. True energy independence must rule out not just fossil fuels, but also false solutions that exacerbate the climate crisis and social conflict. Biofuels, for instance, are linked to deforestation and land grabbing. That the Prabowo administration is continuously uplifting the role of biofuels, a discredited renewable energy source, in early policy declarations is predictable but still highly disappointing.
The UN climate change conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan is a chance for Indonesia to go strong on calls by developing countries for rich countries to pay trillions of dollars in climate reparations, which should primarily be used to fund loss and damage, mitigation, and adaptation in the Global South. However, Indonesia will lack the moral authority to lead the region in demanding fair and adequate climate finance if it continues to aggressively pursue fossil fuel production back home.
Indonesia, one of the world’s largest economies, stands at a crossroads that will define not just its future, but the planet’s.
Indonesia, one of the world’s largest economies, stands at a crossroads that will define not just its future, but the planet’s. While the government clings to fossil fuel dependence—a regressive choice that shackles our true potential—we possess both the resources and ingenuity to build a thriving economy powered by clean, people-centered renewable energy. With Indonesia’s significant diplomatic weight, we could spearhead efforts to secure vital climate finance for the Global South. Yet our nation has yet to harness its true power. Will Prabowo seize this moment to propel Indonesia toward a clean energy future, or retreat into the fossil-fueled past?
Sisilia Nurmala Dewi is a climate and human rights activist, currently leading 350.org Indonesia. With over a decade of experience, she advocates for indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights to their land and natural resources. Her work spans national and international levels, focusing on the intersection of these issues with climate change.