Coal news and updates

Indonesia delays $20bn green plan, after split with rich nations on grants and new coal plants

The launch of the Jetp investment plan has been hampered by disagreements over funding and technical challenges

The energy transition deal aims to wean Indonesia off coal, which now takes up nearly half of the country's electricity mix. Photo: Kemal Jufri / Greenpeace

Indonesia has delayed the launch of a $20 billion clean energy plan as it needs more time to bridge divisions with wealthy donor nations on financing terms and new coal plants.

The investment blueprint is supposed to set out how foreign funding will help wean the Southeast Asian country off coal. But international talks on it have been tense, with Indonesia wanting more money on better terms from rich countries.

Originally slated for public release on Wednesday, the Just Energy Transition Partnership (Jetp) document is now scheduled to be officially unveiled later in the year as experts need additional time to develop “a technically credible pathway”, the Jetp Secretariat said in a statement. The Secretariat acts as a coordinating body and represents both Indonesia and the donor countries.

Tense negotiations

The setback follows nine months of tumultuous behind-the-scenes negotiations since the deal between Indonesia and a group of international partners led by the US and Japan was announced at the G20 summit in Bali.

Disagreements over the type of funds provided and technical challenges in ensuring the coal-to-renewables switch have been the biggest roadblocks so far, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.

Instead of launching the plan, on Wednesday the Jetp Secretariat submitted a draft document to the Indonesian government and its international partners for further review.

Dadan Kusdiana, Indonesia’s Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, told Climate Home News the government is “committed to the energy transition”, but it will have to review the technical findings “to see if the targets are credible and workable”.

Energy transition targets

The partnership aims to peak Indonesia’s total power sector emissions by 2030, bring the sector’s net-zero target forward by ten years to 2050 and accelerate the rollout of renewable energy to reach at least 34% of all power generation by 2030.

Indonesia relies on coal for nearly half of its electricity production. Coal consumption in the country hit a record high in 2022, while the share of renewables in the energy mix slightly declined. The financial help promised by developed countries aims to reverse the course.

Similar deals have been struck with South Africa and Vietnam, but the Indonesian program is going to face particular challenges.

Whereas South Africa’s Apartheid-era coal plants are close to retirement, Indonesia’s are only on average nine years old, which makes compensating their owners for shutting them down early much more costly. On principle, the program should also strive to make the transition to clean energy fair for more than a quarter of a million people employed by the country’s coal industry.