JAKARTA — Indonesia’s first official road map to phase out coal is drawing criticism for being too weak and full of loopholes that may slow down the country’s shift away from coal-fired power.
The plan uses a scoring system to decide which power plants to shut down early. But experts say the system puts too much weight on factors like the amount of external funding available (27% of the score) and not enough on carbon emissions (only 9.3%). Emission cuts are supposed to be the main goal of the energy transition.
“This scoring system will block most coal plants from early retirement,” said Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, director of the Jakarta-based think tank Center for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS). He told reporters that the plan favors low-risk closures — plants with donor support and little impact on the power grid — even if they are not the biggest polluters.
Bhima also pointed out that the system ignores the savings from shutting down old and inefficient coal plants. “If closing a coal plant saves money, shouldn’t that help ease the financial burden?” he asked, adding that depending on foreign funding is risky in the current global finance climate.
He warned that even if funding is available, other factors could still block closures. The scoring system gives more weight to things like economic value (9.8%) and grid reliability (13%) than to emissions. This means that plants supporting key industries may stay open despite their high pollution levels.
“Emissions should be the main reason to close a plant, not the last,” Bhima said.
The road map also lacks a firm retirement schedule. At the G20 Summit in November 2024, President Prabowo Subianto pledged to shut down all coal-fired power plants by 2040. But the document offers no clear deadline or timeline, according to energy nonprofit CERAH.
The plan also fails to name which specific coal plants should be shut down first, despite existing studies that already identify the most suitable candidates. “This regulation should have included a list of coal-fired power plants targeted for early retirement,” said CERAH policy strategist Sartika Nur Shalati.
Another key concern is the roadmap’s emission timeline. It sets a peak for power sector emissions in 2037, with reductions starting only in 2038. That’s seven years later than the 2030 target recommended by the International Energy Agency to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Critics warn that without urgent revisions, Indonesia risks falling short of its climate commitments while continuing to depend on coal for years to come.
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