Intensifying the Green Economy, Indonesian Government Explores Blue Economy Development

The Indonesian government remains committed to advancing the green economy as part of its vision for Indonesia Emas 2045. According to Reza Yamora Siregar, the Special Staff to the Minister Coordinator for Economic Affairs, Indonesia boasts abundant resources ranging from geothermal and solar to hydropower.

"Green economy is our commitment to the international community. (However), the government also supports the blue economy as part of what we will promote in the future, encompassing activities related to the sea such as tourism, transportation, marine products including fisheries industry, storage systems, transportation systems, shipping lines, and more," stated Reza during an investment forum themed "Investment Trends in Indonesia 2024 and Green Economic Opportunities" in Singapore on Friday (8/12).

He noted that Indonesia's economy has consistently grown by five percent, even though it experienced a downturn in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, since the first quarter of 2021, growth has returned to five percent.

"What initiatives will lead us to achieve 6 to 7 percent? Make it stronger. We have growth targets, poverty targets, and quality market targets."

Reza explained that Indonesia's current investment phase focuses on hard infrastructure due to the massive construction projects, meeting domestic needs for airports, ports, and roads, making the government's current emphasis on building physical infrastructure.

"In the second phase, we will move on to soft infrastructure, namely digitalization. The challenge toward a green economy is how to transform coal-based energy into less-polluted forms. Because there are low-pollution grades of coal. We are entering into that before moving on to renewable energy."

During his presentation at the seminar, Reza added that infrastructure development supporting investment in Indonesia is an ongoing process. He emphasized that it cannot be influenced by future political conditions because investment is long-term and requires commitment.

"The investments we have made are multi-year, cannot just stop here. Regardless of the government, they must respect this. We have also reformed laws in many sectors through the Omnibus Law," he explained.

As known, Indonesia and the International Partners Group (IPG), led by the United States and Japan, declared a joint commitment to form the Fair Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) at the 2022 G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia. JETP aims to accelerate a fair and gradual energy transition in Indonesia's electricity sector. Through JETP, Indonesia pledged to reduce peak greenhouse gas emissions to 290 metric tons of carbon dioxide (Mt CO2) by 2030, accelerate the share of new and renewable energy (NRE) to 34 Mt CO2, and achieve Net Zero Emission (NZE) by 2050. In support of Indonesia's goals, IPG members have promised funding of $20 billion from the public and private sectors for energy transition projects in Indonesia."