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mid public skepticism over the Indonesia-US climate change partnership signed in Bali two years ago, the US government has renewed its commitment to help Indonesia in environmental protection.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel said his government had designed some programs to help Indonesia achieve its climate goals.

“It’s our commitment to support the Indonesian government on not only how to protect the environment in the country but also to develop the economy in environmentally friendly ways,” Marciel said during the Earth Day commemoration held recently in Jakarta.

US President Barack Obama and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a comprehensive partnership agreement in Bali in 2010.

The partnership covers several issues, including strategic efforts in dealing with climate change. However, some experts have questioned how to put the agreement into practice.

The programs the US government designed, Marciel added, include marine protection, reducing carbon emission from the forestry sector and developing new and renewable energy.

The energy sector is one of the main sectors in which Indonesia is still facing key challenges, he said.

Indonesia is still highly dependent on fossil fuels, while more than one quarter of its people still do not have access to energy or electricity.

Data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show that only 5 percent of energy supplies in the country come from new and renewable energy. The energy sector ranks as the second biggest emitter after the forestry sector, which accounts for 65 percent of total carbon emissions. Emissions from the energy sector are projected to continue to grow.

“The energy sector may become the largest emitter,” said Arief Heru Kuncoro, the ministry’s new renewable energy and energy conservation director general.

While depending too much on fossil fuels, he said, Indonesia still tapped only some of its huge potentials of new and renewable energy.

Of total the capacity of 75,000 megawatts from hydropower, for example, the installed capacity has reached only about 5,700 megawatts, which is too low.

“We still have more renewable energy potentials, such as geothermal, microhydro and biomass, as well as solar and wind energy,” Arief said.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the ministry plans to increase the share of new and renewable energy to about 70 percent by 2025 from the current 5 percent.

Rachmat Witoelar of the Climate Change National Council (DNPI) said Indonesia was a huge country with vast potential, but it was still developing.

“We may not be able to match what you [the US] has done, especially in technology. We cannot jump over these stages of growth. I don’t think there is a technology to be transferred by the US to Indonesia. [Transfer of technology] is something that is not applicable here in near future,” Rachmat said.

Thus, solving existing problems together might become the backbone of the partnership, he said.

“We’d like to proceed to fulfil the agreement made by Obama and Yudhoyono in Bali. Thus, we will learn,” Rachmat said.

Retno Setianingsih, an official from the USAID Office on the energy sector, said under the comprehensive partnership, the US government had designed various energy programs aiming to help Indonesia achieve its Vision 2025 goals.

— JP/ Elly Burhaini Faizal