Minister of EMR Expresses Commitment to Renewable Energy at IEA ‘s Clean Energy Transitions Summits

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 237.Pers/04/SJI/2020

Date: 9 July 2020

Minister of EMR Expresses Commitment to Renewable Energy at IEA 's Clean Energy Transitions Summits

Indonesia reconfirms its commitment to clean energy in increasing the energy supplies by expanding the utilization and encouraging investment in renewable energy. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) Arifin Tasrif delivered this point as a speaker in a virtual meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA) titled Clean Energy Transitions Summit, the largest global event in energy and climate. The meeting brought together over 40 ministers from countries that represent 80% of the global energy users and emitters.

"To fulfil our energy demands, Indonesia has set a 23% target of renewable energy in our energy mix in 2025. This policy, combined with Indonesia's commitment to reducing emission by up to 29% in 2030, is a clear path towards a cleaner energy system," affirmed Minister Arifin on Thursday (9/7) afternoon.

On this occasion, Minister Arifin also stated that with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world's economy is facing serious challenges, which affect every corner of the world and limit sustainable development and clean energy transition. One of the numerous impacts of the pandemic in the energy sector is reflected in a significant drop in the global energy consumption due to the isolation and lockdown policies. The good news is, however, the lockdown policy has also brought about a positive impact of significant reduction in CO2 emissions in Indonesia.

"Therefore, during this challenging time, energy production must be adjusted to create a new balance and to encourage transition to clean energy," continued Minister of EMR.

To reach the target and promote renewable energy investment, the government of Indonesia is formulating a presidential regulation on feed in tariff. At the same, Indonesia is using its renewable energy potential to supply energy to people living in remote and outermost areas. The government has also set a target to replace all diesel power plants within the next three years.

"We're looking for breakthroughs to reduce emission from coal-fired power plants. One of these is the biomass co-firing mechanism at coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions and increase the role of renewable energy. We also plan to stop the operation of old coal power plants and to apply clean coal technology," said Minister Arifin.

According to Minister Arifin, biomass is important in the transition process to clean energy in Indonesia, because biomass is a renewable energy source, can be processed from waste, and can reduce emission. Indonesia is preparing waste to energy facilities in 14 cities, which integrate waste management and power generation. Additionally, Indonesia increases the use of biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels.

"In the transportation sector, we're developing biofuel so that we can gradually reduce fossil fuels consumption. We've introduced biodiesel and developed green refinery to maximize the potential of palm oil (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester/FAME)", Minister Arifin explained.

In addition to using biomass, the government of Indonesia has made efforts to ensure biomass sustainability, because Indonesia has the third largest tropical forests in the world. Investment in technologies and systems is needed to achieve better energy efficiency.

"We've set a brave target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially from the forestry sector and land use. We cooperate with our partners in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) to achieve this target, among others through a partnership with the Kingdom of Norway in a performance model of verified carbon price, which has proven to reduce the equivalent of 11.2 million tonnes of CO2," Minister of EMR concluded.

Indonesia fully appreciates IEA's cooperation in supporting the energy transition. On this occasion, IEA's Executive Director Dr. Fatih Birol also expresses his appreciation for the cooperation made between Indonesia and IEA.

"As Minister Tasrif has expressed, we're very pleased to cooperate with Indonesia in the context of clean energy transition program to renewable energy," said Dr. Birol. (IY)

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