TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsClean energy pledge rings hollow amid coal subsidies
The planned 2026 budget pours more funds into fuel and coal subsidies than into renewable energy development, casting doubt on the government’s commitment to the energy transition.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
An aerial photo shows the Cirata floating solar power plant that can generate 192 megawatts (MW) of peak electricity in West Java. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
D
espite pledges of a swift transition to renewable sources of energy, the planned 2026 budget pours more into fuel and coal subsidies than into clean energy, casting doubt on the government’s commitment.
In his state budget address at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Aug. 15, President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia had to achieve 100 percent renewable energy within 10 years or sooner, reiterating a commitment first announced at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit last year.
However, there has been little progress in terms of regulatory changes or concrete achievements to support the ambitious target.
The 2026 draft budget earmarks more than half of its Rp 402.4 trillion (US$24.9 billion) energy security allocation, some Rp 210.1 trillion, for fossil fuel subsidies, including gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and coal-based electricity.
Mutya Yustika, an energy economist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said Indonesia’s pledge risks being undermined by the country’s continued reliance on fossil fuel subsidies.
The government has yet to publish a clear road map for gradually shifting subsidies toward renewable investments, she explained, and plans like the electricity procurement business plan (RUPTL) contain ambitious targets but their implementation remains inconsistent.
“Without concrete and measurable policy actions, this transition remains more promise than process,” she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, arguing that the allotment reinforces dependence on fossil fuels and undermines the country’s effort to transition to renewable energy.
