Regional Energy Integration as a Solution to Reducing Carbon Emissions

JAKARTA – Regional energy integration can be a fast and wise solution in the energy sector transformation in managing the country’s energy security and mitigating carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. The analysis was given by Australian National University (ANU) Arndt-Corden Department of Economics researcher Budy Resosudarmo in a global virtual seminar entitled “Indonesia’s energy challenges and climate change” organized by the ANU Indonesia Project Global Seminar Series, Tuesday (15/2). “Regional energy integration means physically connecting Indonesia’s energy distribution network with those in other Southeast Asian countries, or even more broadly with countries in East Asia. Especially the electric cable network, and developing a one-market electrical system,” he explained. According to Resosudarmo, these efforts are necessary so that this problem does not hinder future economic development. The implementation of renewable energy development and regional energy integration is likely to increase energy security and reduce Indonesia’s carbon emission growth. Renewable energy, particularly electricity, has grown rapidly in the last decade in Asia. China, Vietnam and India are the leading countries in developing the renewable electricity sector. In 2019, although nearly 99% of Indonesia’s population had access to electricity, Indonesia was still lagging behind several countries in the same region such as China, Thailand and Vietnam. “Electricity quality and reliability is still a major issue. Another issue is energy security,” said Resosudarmo. Apart from the potential of renewable energy, Indonesia is still far behind India in the development of new and renewable energy (EBT), especially in terms of using solar energy for generation. Resosudarmo gave an example in 2018, China’s renewable electricity production was 1,775 GigaWatt per hour (GWh), India 225 GWh, and Vietnam 85 GWh, while Indonesia was only 22 GWh. Furthermore, he said that despite relatively good economic performance, Indonesia’s energy sector has experienced a double burden in increasing energy security and mitigating carbon emissions. Thus, regional energy integration could be a solution. The virtual dialogue also featured Kuki Soejachmoen, Director of the Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID). According to her, the target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is indeed the responsibility of the state, but the private sector plays an important role in realizing the acceleration of the target. Governments at the national level must start collaborating. Soejachmoen said that what is needed to make this collaboration happen is the consistency of policies and regulations, both intersectoral and long term. These include government, private and foreign funding mechanisms as well as resources related to energy transition, including training and education. “Renewable energy not only provides new jobs, but becomes an important part for the industry so that their products are accepted in the global market. These are issues that need the attention of the government,” said Kuki. (Hartatik)