VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia needs up to Rp3,500 trillion to reduce the use of coal-fired power plant (PLTU) to achieve the carbon emission reduction target, Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara has said. At a webinar held here Thursday, he has admitted that the value is quite significant.

Thus, the government had tried to meet the funds needed by using the state revenue from tax payments. It was still not enough.

In addition, Indonesia has been committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent with their own efforts and up to 41 percent with assistance from the international community by 2030.

Hence, the country must reduce the use of PLTUs, considering that they produce a considerable amount of carbon -- around 35 percent of which is generated from the community’s energy consumption.

"Most of our electricity is generated by using coal and diesel. Thus, we still depend on fossil fuels. It makes the sector contribute to high emissions, so we are striving to reduce it," the deputy general explained.

However, decreasing the utilization of PLTUs is difficult as they have been contracted by the state-owned electricity provider PT. PLN (Persero).

"If the power plant is closed while the contract is still effective, we have to provide a lot of compensation,” Nazara added.

Hence, he hopes that Indonesia can receive international support to achieve the reduction target.

The support is expected at Conference of Parties (COP) 26 meeting on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12, 2021.

According to the deputy minister, the meeting can be a milestone for the international community to realize their commitment to assisting the developing countries in achieving various targets related to the issue of climate change. (Antaranews)