Jakarta – The House of Representatives Commission VII has urged the government through the Ministry of Finance to establish a task force responsible for collecting the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) commitment of USD 20 billion.
Member of Commission VII of the House of Representatives, Ratna Juwita Sari, raised critical questions regarding the existence of this task force during a working meeting with the government at the House of Representatives. However, her question was not directly answered by the Head of the Fiscal Policy Agency (BKF) of the Ministry of Finance, Febrio Kacaribu.
“Mr. Febrio, is there a special task force in the Ministry of Finance that has the task of ‘collecting’ commitments from international countries?” Ratna asked in a working meeting with the government at the House of Representatives, looking at the urgency of managing funding commitments for Indonesia’s energy transition.
Chairman of Commission VII of the House of Representatives, Sugeng Suparwoto, also insisted on the same matter by referring to the commitments of developed countries, especially in the context of JETP.
“20 billion dollars is (a large sum of money). We heard from PT PLN (Persero) that the conditions are not easy, and then it becomes a kind of dependence,” he said, noting the difficulties in securing the commitment.
The pressure from the House of Representatives reflects concerns over the lack of clarity and complexity regarding energy transition funding, which should be constructive support rather than additional debt that could increase the burden on state finances.
The government is expected to take immediate action and implement the funding commitment to support Indonesia’s energy transition and emission reduction.
The JETP is in the spotlight due to promises from developed countries, especially the G7, to fund the energy transition in Indonesia, especially in the context of the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022. However, the funding was disappointing as it turned out to be a loan or debt, not a grant as expected.
Previously, President Joko Widodo expressed his disappointment and voiced his concern in a Public Lecture at Stanford University, USA, last week that funding from developed countries increased the debt burden for developing countries. (Hartatik)
