Jakarta – Publish What You Pay (PWYP Indonesia) along with the Coalition for Just Energy Transition held a workshop to advocate for just energy transition policies under the new government in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, July 30, 2022. The event was attended by several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). This workshop marks the fifth in a series of meetings held over the past few months, discussing strategic steps to tackle the challenges of advocating for a just energy transition, particularly under the upcoming new administration.
Indonesia is entering a new chapter of democracy with the elected president and vice president pair, Prabowo-Gibran “PraGib,” who will be inaugurated in October. PraGib has integrated Asta Cita into 8 missions, 17 work programs, and 8 quick-win programs.
PraGib presents Asta Cita as a political product to prepare Indonesia to achieve Golden Indonesia 2045, targeting sustainable economic growth of 6% to 7% by 2025 through strengthening the government’s role in the nation’s economy and development, in line with the philosophy of Pancasila Economy. This effort is being made amidst global economic uncertainty, geopolitical uncertainty, and the climate change crisis.
One of their missions is to achieve national sovereignty through self-sufficiency in food, energy, water, green economy, and blue economy.
Additionally, Asta Cita’s work program explicitly mentions accelerating the decarbonization plan to achieve net zero emission targets, continuing the program to retire coal-fired power plants based on principles of justice and balance, and developing alternative green energy sources, particularly hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal energy.
To ensure that this power transition is not merely symbolic but also results in tangible systemic changes, CSOs need to formulate advocacy strategies and narratives to be promoted. Some key issues that need to be addressed include: to what extent does Asta Cita align with the energy transition agenda and climate crisis mitigation? Second, what are the advocacy opportunities related to just energy transition that can produce low hanging fruit recommendations from civil society into government policies? And what concrete steps can CSOs take to ensure a just and sustainable energy transition under the new administration?
The workshop discussed several main narratives to produce recommendations for the first 100 days of the Prabowo-Gibran administration. Some proposals from CSOs include increasing public participation, evaluating energy policies, early retirement of coal-fired power plants, rejecting false solutions, strengthening ESG standards and safeguarding, and accelerating investment and development of renewable energy as strategic priorities to be unraveled into action points that strengthen the substance of Asta Cita. These action points are simplifications of advocacy targets to produce impacts within the first 100 days of the new administration.
Civil society aims to support a government committed to net zero emission targets to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5°C, thus contributing to the international stage. This considers two strategic moments after Prabowo-Gibran’s inauguration, namely COP 29 and either G20 or G7. This just energy transition effort must become the foundation for achieving the 8% economic growth narrated in Asta Cita, a monumental legacy to be considered with.
Author: Muhammad Adzkia Farirahman
Reviewer: Aryanto Nugroho