Jakarta – The 2023 dry season in the Greater Jakarta region has adverse impacts on air quality. The Indonesian Transport Society (Masyarakat Transportasi Indonesia/MTI) doubts the government’s consistency in implementing energy transition programs.
Indira Darmoyono, MTI’s Environment and Energy Transportation Forum Chairperson highlighted the government’s failure to implement key programs such as Blue Sky and fuel oil to gas conversion.
In a written statement on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, she emphasised that the increasing air pollution in urban areas, especially in Jabodetabek, results from inconsistency in implementing these programs.
Darmoyono considers that revamping the transportation sector is the first step that must be taken by the government to overcome this problem, considering that a large contribution of gas emissions comes from this sector.
“The government’s inconsistency in implementing programs such as blue sky and gas fuel conversion has led to increased air pollution in urban areas, especially in Jabodetabek,” she said, adding her concern over the biofuel 35 (B35) program and urging the acceleration of electric vehicles as a rescue effort.
Highlighting the urgency of the electric vehicle program, Darmoyono said MTI emphasised that subsidies be focused on electric-based mass public vehicles, particularly electric buses, to encourage further development. “We need electric bus development in five Metropolitan areas,” referring to the five municipalities of Jakarta.
She said that she believes that with a complete regulatory ecosystem, the government can consistently oversee the electric vehicle acceleration program. In 2023, the government issued three Ministerial Regulations related to electric vehicle subsidies. These include amendments to the Minister of Industry’s Regulation on government assistance for two-wheeled electric motor vehicles, guidelines for the conversion program of motorcycles with combustion engines to battery-based electric motorcycles, and value-added tax on the delivery of certain four-wheeled electric motor vehicles and certain bus battery-based electric motor vehicles borne by the government in fiscal year 2023.
With a greater focus on the transportation sector and the implementation of energy transition programs, MTI hopes to see significant improvements in the increasingly concerning air quality in the Greater Jakarta area. (Hartatik)