Is Indonesia ready for Prabowo’s dream of phasing out fossil fuels?

Indonesia will require ‘significant policy reforms’ to achieve Prabowo’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050, analysts say

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A boy walks beside a canal with the Cirebon-1 coal-fired power plant in the background, in Cirebon, West Java province, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 4 Dec 2024Updated: 2:27pm, 4 Dec 2024

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced an ambitious goal to phase out coal and fossil fuels in the next 15 years, a target analysts and activists say will be difficult to meet without immediate policy reforms to drastically ramp up renewable energy sources.

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November, Prabowo expressed optimism that Indonesia could achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a decade earlier than the country’s previous commitment of 2060.

“Indonesia is rich in geothermal resources, and we plan to phase out coal-fired and all fossil-fuelled power plants within the next 15 years,” he said. “Our plan includes building over 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity during this time.”

While experts welcome Prabowo’s pledge and the inclusion of climate goals in his agenda, they caution that his targets may be overly ambitious, given existing policies that hinder the transition away from non-renewable energy and a track record of limited political will to fulfil climate commitments.

Women sit on a hill overlooking a coal power plant in Cilegon. Indonesia ranks among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. Photo: AP

Indonesia ranks among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. In 2022, its energy sector released more than 650 million tons of carbon dioxide, making it the seventh-highest emitter globally, according to the International Energy Agency.