Indonesia Embraces Sustainable Energy With The Launch Of A New SDG7 Roadmap

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with Indonesia’s National Energy Council, have launched an innovative blueprint to assist Indonesia achieve its sustainable energy targets – the SDG7 Roadmap for Indonesia.

ESCAP has been supporting member States to develop national SDG7 roadmaps using the National Expert SDG Tool for Energy Planning. This process enables policymakers to make informed policy decisions to support the achievement of the SDG7 targets for clean and affordable energy, as well as emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. Indonesia is one of the three pilot countries in this initiative.

“Indonesia is a leader in Southeast Asia and has been leading by example. The Government’s role in reducing the fossil fuel subsidy has set a benchmark and is being demonstrated as one of the world’s best practices. Indonesia has again demonstrated its leadership in developing the first SDG7 roadmap in Asia and the Pacific. I would like to congratulate the Government of Indonesia for achieving this very important milestone,” said Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

Joining the ESCAP Executive Secretary for the launch were Mr. Arfin Rudiyanto, Deputy Minister for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resources, Dr Ego Syahrial, Secretary-General, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Hon. Azis Syamsuddin MP, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia.

Indonesia’s progress towards achieving the SDG7 targets is encouraging. It is on track to reach universal access to electricity in 2020 and to clean cooking by 2022. However, a stronger enabling policy framework is needed if Indonesia is to achieve the renewable energy and energy efficiency SDG 7 targets by 2030.

Among its key recommendations, the Roadmap outlines an option for Indonesia to reach its target of 100 per cent access to clean cooking by supplementing existing gas extension plans with the use of surplus electricity with highly energy efficient induction electric cookstoves. It also finds that the share of renewable energy will need to increase to 22 per cent of total final energy consumption, which is a 6 per cent increase from the current rate, to enable Indonesia to achieve its SDG7 target.

The launch of the SDG7 Roadmap on 1 December was followed by a high-level policy dialogue with energy experts, parliamentarians from the Green Economy Caucus and the UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia, Ms. Valerie Julliand. Panelists drew on national and regional perspectives to offer their guidance on Indonesia’s clean energy journey and provided feedback on the Indonesia SDG7 Roadmap.