D

eveloping clean and renewable energy can be a challenge, but the movement is underway globally and opportunities are wide open to reduce our dependency on fossil fuel.

Indonesia is blessed with abundant renewable energy sources, from geothermal in the subsurface to full-year coverage of free solar power. However, the development of renewable energy is not about ownership of the sources but the technologies that capture them. Unfortunately, along with other emerging economies, our technology and capacity to capture renewable energy sources remain underdeveloped.

At the Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris last year, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo delivered Indonesia’s commitment to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent from the current projected level by 2030.

The President further pledged that the emissions reduction could reach as much as 41 percent with the support of the international community. As a part of this effort, the government has overhauled fuel subsidy mechanisms and redirected the recovered funds to productive sectors. In addition to this, it is targeting a greater contribution of renewables in the energy mix and promoting waste-to-energy processing.

During COP 21, a global initiative for clean energy, referred to as Mission Innovation, was launched by 20 global leaders, including President Jokowi. Indonesia was among the first countries to join the Mission Innovation initiative together with the US, France and India. Mission Innovation aims to build collaboration among governments, the business sector, scholars and global experts to conduct research, explore innovation and accelerate clean energy development over a 50-year thinking horizon.

As many as 28 global investors led by Bill Gates have established the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC), which has pledged to invest a combined US$20 billion to support member countries of Mission Innovation in their respective commitments toward clean energy.

This support will be available to member countries if they manage to double their national budget allocation in research, development and demonstration (RD&D) for clean energy over a five-year period.

Following its launch in Paris, Mission Innovation’s inaugural meeting was held in San Francisco at the beginning of June this year. The meeting was attended by ministers from member countries and members of the BEC such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Of particular importance during this meeting was the establishment of a baseline, under a business-as-usual scenario, for the combined national budgets for RD&D in clean energy of the 20 member countries together with the EU. This baseline was set at a combined $15 billion per year which meant, as a part of the Mission Innovation pledge, that the combined budget would need to be doubled by member countries to $30 billion over the next five years.

Indonesia’s baseline was set to $16.7 million, which included all government institutions supporting RD&D of clean energy technologies and deployment of these technologies. We are expecting to increase this baseline budget allocation to $30.3 million in 2017 and will continue to increase funding for clean energy RD&D ambitiously. Our goal is to reach a budget allocation of $150 million by 2021, which is a nine-fold increase of our budget baseline.

Indonesia has been on the frontline in Mission Innovation. We have at least four basic initiatives that support the endeavor. First, we have the annual Bali Clean Energy Forum (BCEF) which serves as an opportunity to discuss, share information and strengthen global networks. Second, we are promoting Balias, a model for regional clean energy development, and have established a center of excellence (CoE) for clean energy. Third, we have an electrification program called Indonesia Terang, which is a national effort to provide electricity generated from renewable sources for rural and remote villages. Fourth, we are determined to “leapfrog” the development of fossil fuels and increase the contribution of new-renewable energy in the energy mix from the current 6 percent to 25 percent by 2025.

On the other hand, we are grateful that we are actively engaged in two energy community spectrums: the community of fossil producers and consumers OPEC, as well as various clean energy communities including the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Mission Innovation. Our position is unique and we can play a role in bridging these two different communities.

Our effort to improve energy sovereignty is not an exception; it needs persistence, consistency and idealism. Building power plants, developing renewable energy, encouraging energy conservation, fulfilling fuel demand and providing electricity to 12,659 rural and remote villages requires conviction, sincerity, honesty as well as competence, creativity and persistence.

In contrast to this idealism and strategic approach lies pragmatism and the transactional approach, which results in transitory interest and ignores the long-term perspective.

We have to acknowledge that the transition process and moves to improve our energy sector do not necessarily illustrate our long-term goals and outcome, but are a necessary part of the realization of our ultimate national objectives.

We must continue to stand up for these processes. We have to ignore and avoid those who propagate a self-interest approach — an approach that has long deterred us from building solid coordination internally and externally with our partners and other stakeholders. Diversifying our energy policy with more sustainable, clean and renewable energy is the key to our future and this objective does not belong to a single institution but requires a consistent, persistent and united approach by all of us.
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The writer is the energy and mineral resources minister.