Indonesia’s power sector emissions will peak by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, about a decade ahead of schedule.
After two weeks of talks and tons of ink, the best deal of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt on climate change was announced at a different date and venue, the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting in Indonesia. Despite arriving a little late, the agreement proved that international cooperation could provide real support in fighting climate change.
At the G-20 meeting in Bali in November, US President Joseph Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko Widodo surprised with a $20 billion deal, dubbed Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), under which Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal, committed to accelerating its cuts in greenhouse gas emission at the expense of a group of public and private international parties.
Working toward the global goal of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius, Indonesia’s power sector emissions will peak by 2030, seven years earlier than projected, and reach net zero by 2050, about a decade ahead of the present target, sources of the US Department of State told US media.
The US, Japan, and other countries such as Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and the UK will fund this effort. Private contributions will be coordinated by the Glasgow Financial alliance for Net Zero, with some major banks involved in the project and the eight biggest carbon emitters.
JETP is not a new idea. South Africa was the first JETP recipient of $8.5 billion, announced in 2021 at Glasgow’s COP26 and half the size of the current JETP deal. The US, the UK, France, Germany and the EU funded the first JETP. Environmental organizations criticized the amount offered, saying it pales in comparison to what’s needed to save the planet from extreme heating.
“Treasury is proud to have worked with public and private partners to assemble a historically large financial package focused on helping to transition one of the world’s highest-emitting countries to a just and sustainable economy,” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who attended the Bali’s announcement. “This $20 billion financial package is evidence of the breadth of this partnership. These funds are designed to respond to Indonesia’s current and planned efforts to remove barriers to investing in clean energy and phasing down coal.”
