Title photo above: Paiton coal plant, Indonesia
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Indonesia is a vast country of some 285 million people. It faces a number of critical environmental issues which for years have blighted the country's 'green' reputation. Foremost among these issues is the country's reliance on fossil fuels and in particular coal. Currently over 60% of its electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants of which there are 90. (See Figure 3 above.) The vast coal reserves in the country provide energy security and with the small matter of 30 billion tonnes still in the ground, weaning Indonesia off this readily available energy source is going to be extremely difficult. Consider 2024, when Indonesia produced 830.96 million tons of coal. This was a record high and 17% higher than the government's target. Figures 1 and 2 highlight this huge leap in both production and consumption.
Indonesia's climate policy presents a complex and contradictory picture, marked by a clear tension between the country's gradual efforts to promote renewable energy, its continued reliance on fossil fuels, and significant emissions from deforestation. Indonesia's emissions from forestry and other land use (FOLU) have accounted for nearly half of the country's total emissions over the past 20 years, a staggering fact when you consider how much coal has been burnt in CFPPs. The FOLU emissions reached an eye-watering 1 Gigatonne of CO2e per year in 2024, with palm oil-driven deforestation the biggest cause.
Overall, Indonesia's progress in transitioning to a low-carbon economy remains limited, with little meaningful change across critical sectors. Power generation and industry remain heavily reliant on coal, while demand for palm oil continues to be the primary driver of widespread deforestation and land use sector emissions.
Indonesia has a new administration led by President Prabowo Subianto in October 2024. This change in leadership offers a critical opportunity for moving the country away from coal towards renewable energy sources. However, some plans developed under the new government's focus on sustaining economic development and enhancing self-sufficiency raise serious environmental concerns: potential deforestation, loss of biodiversity and displacement of indigenous communities.
In November 2024, the new President made ambitious announcements at various high-level international forums about the country's energy transition, pledging to retire all fossil fuel and coal-powered plants within 15 years and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050, a decade earlier than previously indicated. While these announcements signal a positive shift in the country’s energy and climate commitments, the complexity of Indonesia’s power sector and the existing policy and regulatory framework present serious barriers to implementing these pledges quickly.
A quick glance at Figure 3 and Table 1 below tells you that Indonesia's renewable energy development is in its infancy. The reason for this:
The government is relying on private investment to fuel this technology and its rollout. With interest rates over 6%, private investors are unwilling to take the risk of ploughing money into renewables.
Indonesia’s National Electricity Plan sets out rules only for its fossil fuel power sector development, and not for renewable energy. A plan without a clearly marked pathway for renewable energy?
Many CFPPs in Indonesia are relatively young. Their integration into the national grid means that there is reliable supply across much of Indonesia. Neither the grid nor storage infrastructure is ready for significantly more renewable capacity to come online. In any case, replacing coal with renewable would lessen the reliability of supply until new networks were installed. There are no plans for this as yet.
Finally, how does Indonesia's electricity generation from renewables compare with the other coal-using nations?
Table 1
For a country of 285 million people, Indonesia's renewable-sourced electricity is a tiny fraction of what it needs to be if Indonesia is to reach net zero by 2050. It cannot begin retiring CFPPs until a huge increase in renewable capacity takes place and all the data suggests this is years away. In fact the indications are that the Indonesian government fully intends exploiting a significant proportion of its coal reserves.
Visit Climate Action Tracker's Indonesia page here to read the depressing lack of progress made by Indonesia on the road to net zero.
Click on the links below to learn more about the top coal-producing countries and their transition away from coal to renewable energy.
TITLE PHOTO: By Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas or alternatively © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas,