Socially Inclusive Sustainable Energy Transition for Provinces in Indonesia

The funding for the project was part of a proposed three-year Danish contribution to support UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC) located in the UN City Copenhagen.

Alongside energy transitions and long-term energy planning pathways adopted by countries, it was equally important to focus on the just, inclusive and the developmental aspects of such transitions. Just transition entailed a systemic view of the opportunities and challenges, an effective dialogue and engagement with relevant actors. This meant putting considerations of employment, equity, inclusion, affordability, and sustainable economic development at the centre of the transition process. 

These were especially critical in the South-East Asian emerging economies that were embarking simultaneously on multiple energy and developmental transitions. Indonesia planned to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. It aimed to generate 34% of electricity from renewables by 2030. It signed the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in 2022, aiming to stabilise emissions by 2030. Despite plans to stop new coal plants by 2023, this would still have meant an addition of 35 GW as per the existing plan, and continued investments into natural gas extraction and transportation. New electricity regulations (PR 112) aimed to resolve tariff issues (renewables) and introduce tenders. Such energy transitions needed to be sensitive to multi-faceted concerns and spillover impacts (including negative impacts) on socio-economic livelihoods, on jobs and skills, on new IPPs and the SME landscape, on vulnerability and marginalisation, on local content and manufacturing capabilities, on revenue streams and income losses, and on finance flows and NDC implementation. 

To make the energy transition as sustainable and impactful as possible, it was evident that activities needed to integrate social and just considerations into mainstream policies, plans, and decision-making criteria, and reflect in the country’s NDCs, both in the plans as well as in the implementation. The objective of this grant was to enable and support this process at a local level, in select provinces in Indonesia.