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Experts urge Indonesia JETP to address economic, health impact of coal plants
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Smoke and steam billow out of a coal-fired power plant owned by Indonesia Power in Suralaya, Banten province, on July 11, 2020. (Reuters/WILLY KURNIAWAN)
T
he government is facing fresh calls to evaluate the public health and socioeconomic impacts of the country’s widespread use of coal-fired power plants as it moves to implement the landmark Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
Environmental groups said at a report launch event on Tuesday that they had been urging the government to address the deterioration of the quality of life in communities around coal-fired power plants owing to the pollutants they emitted.
This included having the JETP program take into account the rehabilitation of coastal areas, rivers and lakes affected by coal plants’ operations.
“The results of the evaluation would be a strong basis to formulate an effective, sustainable and inclusive regulation,” said Gadjah Mada University (UGM) researcher and report coauthor Erythrina Orie at the event, which was hosted by climate advocacy group Indonesia Cerah.
Read also: RI needs better regulations for JETP sustainability, CSIS says
The report focuses on populations living near coal-fired power plants on Java Island, such as those in West Java and East Java.
Respondents interviewed in the report said they had seen fish catches decline significantly in recent years as a result of pollution from coal spills in coastal areas.
