Rethinking Indonesia’s Renewable Energy Goals: Promises vs. Progress
Evaluating Indonesia’s sustainability progress: How much of its renewable energy targets have been met?
SUSTAINABLE PROGRESS
Sofia Maya S.
4/30/20252 min read
The United Nations defines sustainability as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs (United Nations, “Sustainability”). In the context of renewable energy, this refers to the responsible use of energy sources that can be replenished more quickly than they are consumed. This happens to be crucial for a country such as Indonesia, which over the past few years has on paper dedicated themselves to meet global standards for energy targets. However, the question is how steady and consistent has progress truly been? What targets have been set, and what concrete actions have been taken to achieve them?
According to the World Bank, Indonesia is one of the largest fossil fuel energy subsidizers in all of ASEAN, and in 2021 was the 8th largest showing their large reliance on fossil fuels (United Nations, “What Is Renewable Energy?”)—however how does this reflect on their current agendas? Part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JEPT), the Indonesian government aimed to have at least 44% of its power generated from renewable sources moving forward by 2030 and is also a part of one of the wider plans to have a net-zero power sector target by 2050. In reality their ambitious plans however may be concerning, seeing as the nation has failed to meet the renewable energy target for the past five years. As reported by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the current share of renewable energy in the electricity mix in Indonesia is 13.1%, much below the 2023 target of 17.9%. In fact, Indonesia was one of the countries in the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) who did not sign the global renewable and energy efficiency pledges, raising questions surrounding their overall commitment towards alleviating fossil fuel use and propelling the nation towards renewables.
As Indonesia experiences the change of a new administration, it is up to the new government to meet new reduced targets and address the root causes of the problems. With the new administration expressing interest in achieving energy independence they have currently aimed for zero emissions before 2060, the people are yet to see further concrete action made (Institute for Essential Services Reform), such as the lack of effort currently made to halt the continuation of coal power plants with little to no tangible action taken and a larger focus being placed on long-term targets and distant change.
On that note, it is vital that more tactical and practical steps need to be implemented. There remains an urgent need for a clearer and more consistent regulatory framework for the development of these energies, along with assistance in regards to their practical application and a gradual phase-out of fossil fuel use. Furthermore, the Indonesian government has the utmost responsibility to re-think their current dependence on fossil fuels, seeing as a transition to more renewable energies may provide various perks such as creating an abundance of job and investment opportunities across the nation. Accessibility and further underlying challenges in cross-sector collaboration will be necessary for Indonesia in order to achieve a sustainable, green, and balanced future, and only by overcoming these challenges will Indonesia take their next step in achieving their energy goals.
Works Cited
United Nations. “Sustainability.” United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
United Nations. “What Is Renewable Energy?” United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy#:~:text=Renewable%20energy%20is%20energy%20derived,at%20which%20humankind%20consumes%20energy. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. A Dark Cloud over Indonesia’s Pledge to Achieve Net-Zero Emissions by 2060. 14 Dec. 2023, https://ieefa.org/resources/dark-cloud-over-indonesias-pledge-achieve-net-zero-emissions-2060. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Institute for Essential Services Reform. “100 Days of Prabowo-Gibran: Opportunities to Accelerate Indonesia’s Energy Transition.” IESR, 22 Jan. 2025, https://iesr.or.id/en/100-days-of-prabowo-gibran-opportunities-to-accelerate-indonesias-energy-transition/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.