Inconsistency of Indonesia’s current Energy Transition Policy

Many current regulations are related to the handling of the energy transition between sectors that are not synchronous and not comprehensive.

Many current regulations are related to the handling of the energy transition between sectors that are not synchronous and not comprehensive, the current energy transition policy is only artificial in helping NDCs. Long before the advent Paris Agreement, Johan Rockstrom, through his study of planetary boundaries, has stated that the current condition of the earth is in an unsafe zone, of the 9 boundaries of the earth have been exceeded, one of which is the boundary of planet climate change has been violated, in addition to that biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, land-use change, and chemical pollution It has been indicated that it has been violated, this is caused by human activities, especially the industrial sector and other human activities that produce greenhouse gas emissions. As is the case in Indonesia The electricity sector itself contributes as much as 42% per year of total CO2 emissions from total emissions generated from the sector Energy as large as638.808Gg CO2e.

This climate change issue has also attracted global attention through the Paris Agreement, which has emphasized the importance of achieving the global temperature increase target must be below 1.5° to 2°C.  Indonesia itself has ratified through Law Number 16 of 2016 concerning the Ratification of the Paris Agreement and stated its commitment to  the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) will reduce emissions by 29% with its own efforts and 41% with international assistance which then the Enhanced NDC is updated by 31.89% with its own efforts and by 43.20% with international assistance, the increase in the target is quite ambitious and achieves Net Zero emissions by 2050 and by 2060 at the latest.

However, there are still many statements of government commitment that are not in line with the policies or regulations that have been issued by the current government, such as Presidential Regulation Number 112 of 2022, which was issued to provide affirmative policy for affirmative action, encouraging the acceleration of the development of renewable energy in the provision of electricity as a form of providing certainty in this energy transition process, in Article 3 paragraph (4) a states that the coal-fired power plants that have been stipulated in the Electricity Supply Business Plan before the enactment of Presidential Regulation 112 of 2022, meaning that the planning and development enshrined in the 2021-2030 RUPTL are still being carried out, including the existence of The plan to build 13.5 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants in the 2021-2030 RUPTL early retirement coal-fired power plants is still allowed to build new coal-fired power plants in captive places of the LNG Terminal project on the Sanur Coast, it has been known that LNG is a dirty energy and will still produce GHG emissions because it is sourced from fossils, and in its operations there is a methane mix that is more dangerous than carbon dioxide then continued in Presidential Regulation No.112 of 2022 in Article 3 point b 3 states that coal-fired power plants that meet the requirements can still operate for a maximum of 2050, meaning that the Article provides space for coal-fired power plants to operate until 2050, in addition to the guidelines for the RUPTL Presidential Regulation No.22 of 2017 which was issued as a strategic direction to regulate the direction of implementation of national energy policies,  Including the action plan for the development of renewable energy, it turns out that there is still an  electricity infrastructure development program of 135.5 GW in 2025 consisting of 90.4 GW of fossil power plants and only 45.l GW of NRE power plants, 443.1 GW in 2050 consisting of 275.4 GW of fossil power plants and only 167.6 GW of NRE power plants. This is in stark contrast to the government’s commitment to achieve  the Net Zero Emission  target by 2050 at the earliest and no later than 2060

On the other hand, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has stated its stance to inject coal-fired power plants and carry out campaigns , but regulations to switch to the energy transition in the electricity sector itself still provide room for coal-fired power plants to stay alive until 2050, in addition there is still a chance of deforestation of up to 325,000 hectares per year until 2030. Even in the LTS-LCCR 2050 document, the government still has a deforestation allocation of 6.8 around 1.46 million per year. This figure has increased from the average deforestation compared to the 2009-2013 period which was 1.1 million per year, and cumulatively during the 2017-2021 period the forest area in Kalimantan, Papua, and Sumatra has decreased by 1,575,442 ha.

The above illustrates that the current condition of Indonesia is imbalanced between rules (das sein) and concrete events (das sollen). It needs disclousure from the government so that commitments, policies, energy transition road maps and their implementation become coherent. The mix target set in Government Regulation Number 79 of 2014 concerning the National Energy Policy (KEN) of 23% in 2025, also in 2023 will only be realized at 13.09%. The inconsistency of the current rules causes legal uncertainty, so it can hinder the energy transition and these achievements are likely to be pessimistic to be realized. In addition, the government is still extending the coal mining permit of PT. Adaro up to 10 years.

It is necessary to have policies that holistically accommodate starting from the stages, indicators and management of renewable energy into national energy management policies to replace fossil energy in accordance with the mandate of Law Number 30 of 2007 concerning Energy which implicitly states that the management of national energy policies (KEN) must also be integrated into the National Energy General Plan (RUEN) and Regional Energy General Plan (RUED) so that the policy between the central and regional governments is in harmony, because  the last draft of the EBET Bill that has been published to date has not been ratified and is still a debate and it is still found that there is no draft that integrates and regulates.

Due to the issue of climate change (climate change) This will not only have an impact on one or two sectors, but various sectors of life such as the agricultural sector itself will reduce agricultural products up to 9% With rice expected to decline by -0.72 percent, corn -7.1 percent and oil palm -1.21 percent in some regions by 2030, land resources in Java and rice production will decrease by 5% from the current production capacity in 2025, and continue to decline by 10% by 2050 due to climate change. The fisheries sector is affected, fishery products up to more or less 30%. Health sector: Vector-borne diseases: dengue and malaria, based on current data Dengue and malaria as of 2020 has been recorded as many as 254,050 cases, published:Permenkes No. 35 of 2012, the risk of transmission of vector-borne diseases is influenced by climatic factors. Water resources management sector, The need for clean water in 2022 is 5,267.5 million per year, in the 2030 projection it will increase by 7% until 2030, threatened to erode, This will lead to an increased risk water-borne disease. The impact has been realized, the latest Bili-bili Sulawesi south, hydropower plants stopped operating due to drought, which indicates that issue climate change It is no longer a demand but an urgent need.

Indonesia has very strong resources, the potential for renewable energy sources in Indonesia totals 3,686 GW, consisting of solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal and also marine energy, in addition to that Indonesia’s energy security index has a score of 6 to 7.99 with a category of resistance below a score of 8-10 categorization is very resistant, so it is actually very optimistic to make an energy transition to realize the NDC commitment of 31.89 and achieve net zero emissionsby 2050-2060. Dr. Ir Nanang Hariyanto, M.T as an electricity expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology and an advisor to PT Quadran Rekayasa Energi expressed his optimism that the NDC and net zero emission targets can be achieved if collaboration between stakeholders in the form of community participation through the Government-Private Partnership (PPP) format is one of the solutions. Private business entities, SOEs, BUMDs, and the general public can contribute to the provision of electricity infrastructure, because PLN is starting to be overwhelmed by the demands of funding electricity projects, including in increasing the RE Mix (Renewable Energy Mix) which is quite large in addition to the need to strengthen the transmission network which is considered the main factor in increasing the use of renewable energy towards the energy transition to NZE 2060.

Wulan Fitriana
Wulan Fitriana
Wulan Fitriana is a researcher with a background in Business Law. She holds a Master's degree in Law from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, and focuses on legal frameworks for energy transition and climate change policy. Currently, Wulan is a PhD candidate and a researcher at the NHRG Research Group, Power System Laboratory, Bandung Institute of Technology . She is passionate about exploring the intersection of law, business, and sustainability in addressing global challenges.