‘Carrots, sticks, and hugs’: Scrutinising Indonesia’s US$20 billion just transition challenge

Eco-Business Podcast

Earlier this month, Indonesia started its detailed planning into closing more coal plants and scaling up renewable energy capacity, with the launch of the secretariat for its Just Energy Transition Partnership, or JET-P, the landmark tie-up with wealthy countries and large private investors. The stakes are high. If done well, the US$20 billion of loans and grants pledged to the country could help it shave 20 per cent off peak power industry emissions in 2030, and get the coal-reliant sector to net-zero by 2050. But at the same time, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest miners, exporters and users of coal. The fossil fuel is pollutive, but also cheap. It has been key to helping millions of people escape poverty over the past few decades – a wrong move could mean energy insecurity, unaffordable bills and job losses. So how can Indonesia continue to grow and help its people secure better livelihoods while meeting its green targets? What should be included in its JET-P implementation plan, which is due in half a year? What exactly is “just” in the Indonesian context? Eco-Business discusses these issues with Dr Siwage Negara, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, who keeps a keen eye on economic and development issues in Indonesia, and Peter Godfrey, Asia Pacific Managing Director at the Energy Institute, a think tank. This is the first episode in a series of podcasts dedicated to Southeast Asia's clean energy transition.