Indonesia’s Prabowo plans to retire all fossil fuel plants in 15 years, but experts are skeptical

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has announced that his government plans to retire all coal and other fossil fuel-power plants while drastically boosting the country’s renewable energy capacity in the next 15 years.

“Indonesia is rich in geothermal resources, and we plan to phase out coal-fired and all fossil-fueled power plants within the next 15 years. Our plan includes building over 75 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity during this time,” Subianto said at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil on Tuesday.

Subianto also said he was “optimistic” Indonesia would achieve net zero emissions by 2050, a decade sooner than the country’s previous 2060 commitment.

Experts and environmental activists welcomed the announcements but hedged their expectations.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of heavily polluting coal. Most of its energy comes from fossil fuels. Over 250 coal-fired power plants are currently powering the country and more are being built, including at new industrial parks where globally-important materials like nickel, cobalt and aluminum are being processed.

In 2022, Indonesia’s energy sector emitted over 650 million tons of carbon dioxide, the world’s seventh highest level, according to the International Energy Agency. Population and economic growth are expected to triple the country’s energy consumption by 2050.

Experts said that real changes need to be implemented on the ground in Indonesia quickly if the president is serious about his plans.

“If the government is serious about speeding up the energy transition, efforts to shut down coal-fired power plants and prevent new permits for the construction of coal-fired power plants must be clear so that