Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 08 2023

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Indonesia’s coal addiction proving

very hard to kick

Global efforts to help Jakarta wean itself off fossil fuels and move towards the
long-awaited green transition thwarted by political ties to coal

INDONESIA AS a coal exporting nation, Indonesia’s days are But it is this coal-powered electricity that is for now
supposedly numbered. Yet having received bil- powering the nation’s burgeoning green parks and
WHAT: Coal lions of dollars to move beyond fossil fuel use, developments aimed at one day housing renewable
continues to dominate there is little evidence the nation is actually doing battery manufacturing sites such as Chinese battery
energy in Indonesia so, or even wants to do so. giant CATL and Tesla.
despite overseas cash As one of the world’s leading thermal coal Renewables projects to make the green parks truly
injection exporters, and the biggest by tonnage in South- ‘green’ are still years away, according to local sources,
east Asia, Indonesia last year mined almost with solar and wind infrastructure in particular still in
WHY: 690mn tonnes of coal. Of this, at least 494mn its infancy across the country.
Long standing links to tonnes was sent around the world. As a result, the Deputy Minister of Indonesia’s
nation’s political elite The main destinations for Indonesian coal Co-ordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and
hard to break were China, India, South Korea and Japan, Investment, Rachmat Kaimuddin, has said that fossil
according to government figures, with the four fuels will, for now, be used to power the green parks.
WHAT NEXT: leading Asian economies swallowing up 70% of Political irony aside, in the eyes of many regular
Efforts needed by Indonesia’s total exports. Indonesians and coal industry watchers, however, it is
renewables bodies Only China and India export more. therefore the nation’s political elite that are responsible
to make industry In financial terms the nation’s exports of coal for delaying a switch to a cleaner, greener future. Jakarta is still
competitive earn Jakarta around $3bn each month. Energy Economics and Financial Analysis ana-
And with coal already such an influential lyst Putra Adhiguna has made public his own belief approving
commodity in the economic make-up of South- that it is the personal and political interests that senior construction
east Asia’s most populous nation, the indications government officials have in coal that are delaying the
are it is only going to grow in importance, with transition. requests on new
the government of President Joko Widodo aim- Even the official charged with Indonesia’s move
ing for a new record of 518mn tonnes of exports away from coal, and the current Co-ordinating Min- coal power plants
by the end of 2023. ister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pand-
Over the same period, it is anticipated that jaitan is reported to have personal coal assets. nationwide.
production levels will reach around 695mn The new green park, to be powered at first by coal, is
tonnes. a “project of coal billionaire Garibaldi Thohir”, accord-
It is thought much of this increase in mining ing to one report. Thohir is the brother of Erick Thohir,
numbers will be sent to buyers in the Philippines Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises since
as well as Vietnam. 2019.
Yet in spite of the billions these exports bring
in, Indonesia has been offered more to move Transparency questioned
away from coal. A recent US media report quoted an email
Bizarrely, though, Jakarta is still approving issued by Luhut Pandjaitan that said “transpar-
construction requests on new coal power plants ency and accountability continue to be critical
nationwide. components of Indonesia’s decarbonisation
efforts.”
Foreign aid plan Supporting his boss, Deputy Minister
Just three months ago the Indonesian president Kaimuddin also said: “Pak Luhut is my direct
along with US President Joe Biden and a number of supervisor, and I can say so far he’s been very,
other world leaders revealed a $20bn plan towards very supportive of this decarbonisation and
reducing coal use in the sprawling 18,000 island nation. never once he mentioned, like, you know,
The multinational financial deal backed by US and ‘What about my asset?’ or whatever.”
Japanese banks would, analysts predicted at the time, Big Coal ties to influential politicians aside,
serve as a model for other nations to make similar there remains no viable alternative to powering
moves away from coal use. the majority of the country, including the new
At present Indonesia generates about 60% of its green parks.
annual electricity capacity from coal. At present only around 1% of all energy

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 22 •February•2023