Page 17 - AsiaElec Week 44 2021

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COAL core issue and I’m now as the finance minister Sri Mulyani said the country would
calculating what does it mean to retire coal also need international support to ensure
Indonesia could face out earlier. How much does it cost us?” she said. electricity remains affordable when it switches
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last
to renewable sources, citing a temporary
coal by 2040 week told the UK parliament that President calculation of a need for $10 billion to $23
billion in “implicit subsidies” for renewable
Joko Widodo had said Indonesia was going
Indonesia could phase out coal-fired power to bring forward the abolition of coal use to power projects until 2030.
plants by 2040 if it gets sufficient financial help 2040. “If this is all supposed to be financed from
from the international community, the finance Indonesia had not previously confirmed my taxpayers’ money, that won’t work. The
minister told Reuters. such a plan. world is asking us, so now the question is
The Southeast Asian archipelago is the Sri Mulyani told Reuters that meeting such what the world could do to help Indonesia.”
world’s fourth-most populous country and a target was conditional on getting financial
eighth biggest emitter of greenhouse gas, with help from multilateral institutions, the private
coal making up about 65% of its energy mix. sector and developed countries.
It is also the world’s biggest coal exporter. She said the plans to be announced on HYDROGEN
Visiting the Scottish city of Glasgow for Wednesday moved Indonesia’s climate targets
the COP26 conference, Sri Mulyani Indrawati beyond “rhetoric” into the technical details Japan’s push for ammonia
said Indonesia would announce detailed plans and that the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
to move to cleaner energy, with the phase-out and other financial institutions were “very and hydrogen could extend
of coal being the key issue. excited” with their ideas.
Previously, Indonesia said it planned to The ADB is leading a group of financial life of coal plants
phase out coal for electricity by 2056, as part institutions to devise plans to speed up the
of a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions closings of coal-fired power plants in Asia, Japan’s peak climate NGO, the Kiko Network,
by 2060 or earlier. including in Indonesia, by buying the assets has expressed alarm at the government’s push
“If we are going to put forward until and winding them down. to heavily subsidise the use hydrogen and
2040, then we need to have funding to retire Jakarta has identified 5.5 gigawatts of coal ammonia to extend the life of its fleet of coal
coal earlier and to build the new capacity of power plants that could be retired early in the plants.
renewable energy,” Sri Mulyani said. next 8 years, estimating this would cost $25 Kiko argues most of the projects in
“That is exactly what has now become the billion to $30 billion. Southeast Asia, North America, Russia and

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