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ndonesia effectively took to the front stage in promoting the global clean energy revolution by joining the newly created '€œMission Innovation'€ initiative during COP21 in Paris last December. President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, along with 20 other heads of state, committed to double government investment in clean and sustainable energy.

Indonesia has recently become an associated member of the International Energy Association (IEA) and has set an impressively ambitious target for reducing emissions by 41 percent before 2030 with international support.

This underlines the important role and responsibility Indonesia holds in the fight against climate change.

On Feb. 11'€“12, Indonesia will take its first major step in promoting the worldwide transition toward clean and sustainable energy by hosting the Bali Clean Energy Forum (CEF). At the Bali CEF, government and business delegations from around the world are meeting to find effective and affordable solutions to increase the supply of clean and renewable energy as well as to utilize innovative technologies to make existing energy sources cleaner and more efficient.

The forum and the launch of the Bali Center of Excellence for Clean Energy are two important contributions to the global energy transition.

Indonesia and international partners stand united in promoting clean and sustainable energy solutions. At the Bali CEF, Indonesia will welcome high-level delegations from around the world to strengthen the international partnerships that are central to reaching the global energy transition goals.

By cooperating closely with other partners, Indonesia can reinforce its efforts to increase the supply of clean, efficient and affordable energy and electrify remote areas without compromising on its goal of higher economic growth.

In doing so, Indonesia can utilize the experiences from other countries'€™ transition toward clean and sustainable energy that effectively refute the contradiction between growth and sustainability.

By deploying the know-how and technologies developed during this transition, Indonesia can increase its energy supply by the necessary 35,000 MW by 2019 in the greenest possible way.

Indonesia can benefit from international energy cooperation in a number of ways. An example hereof is the current energy partnership between Indonesia and Denmark.

Resting on three complementing pillars, the partnership seeks to create tailor-made solutions to Indonesia'€™s energy challenges.

First, the development cooperation between our two countries has for more than a decade provided assistance in handling energy and environmental challenges. A prime example of this cooperation is our waste-to-energy project in the Central Java town of Cilacap.

The raison d'۪̻tre behind this project is to demonstrate how innovative technology can use 120 tons of waste daily to substitute for the use of coal.

This project can be replicated to other places throughout Indonesia, and will help solve the increasing waste problem and at the same time create a valuable green energy source.

Second, we recently launched our joint government-to-government cooperation within the energy sector. This innovative form of bilateral cooperation brings together energy sector experts from both countries to share knowledge on energy modelling, energy efficiency and the integration of renewable energy.

Sharing experiences, policies and regulations comes at no cost and only serves to support the transition of the energy system to be less reliant on fossil fuels. By sharing our common expertise on energy transformation, we will support each other to reach the ambitious goals.

And last '€” but definitely not least '€” we are establishing strong partnerships and commercial cooperation between energy technology companies in our two countries.

By boosting investment and trade, know-how and technology are effectively transferred between energy sector companies. Indonesian companies can benefit from the knowledge on green and renewable energy supply created during Denmark'€™s clean energy transition over the past 40 years.

A strengthened commercial partnership will support Indonesia'€™s energy transition, generate jobs in the Indonesian energy sector and create economic growth. In short, it will be a win-win for both the economy and the environment.

Indonesia is currently welcoming investments from Danish and other international energy technology suppliers. The companies see the enormous potential this sector holds and are ready and willing to invest.

Investments like these will not only increase Indonesia'€™s supply of sustainable energy, but also provide electricity to remote areas of the country.

But some companies still face challenges when trying to invest. And every investment opportunity lost will not benefit Indonesia'€™s green transition.

At the Bali CEF focus will thus be on the planned energy sector reforms and how they will create an investment-friendly business environment, supportive of Indonesia'€™s vision of a transition toward clean and renewable energy.

And strengthening the partnerships with international partners will assist Indonesia in this endeavor and support Indonesia'€™s reform toward a low-carbon economy.
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Sudirman Said is Indonesian minister for energy and mineral resources and Casper Klynge is Danish ambassador to Indonesia.