Concrete Energy Transition Actions Mitigate Climate Crisis

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

From right to left: Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia Teguh Dartanto, Senior Head of Financial Consultant KoinWork Willy Sanjaya, and Senior Investment Associate at East Venture Gavin Adrian were the speakers at the Kompas100 Forum: CEO on Stage at the UI Engineering Faculty Building, Depok , Jakarta, Monday (11/21/2022).

DEPOK, KOMPAS — The efforts to curb Earth’s temperature increase to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius require concrete actions by all parties. Therefore, the realization of commitments to the energy transition should be accelerated in order to mitigate the impact of the looming climate crisis.

Director of strategic planning and business development of Pertamina’s new renewable energy, Fadli Rahman, said energy transition constituted one of the steps to overcome the climate crisis. This move is seen as even more urgent as the rise in Earth temperature today is already above 1 degree Celsius.

“If it rises to 2 degrees [Celsius], there will be chaos. The present calculation is that unless we take concrete actions right now, the Earth’s temperature increase will be worse [higher],” said Fadli at the 100 CEO Forum on the theme of “Taking Bold Actions Against Climate Crisis” held by Kompas at the Faculty of Technology, University of Indonesia (UI), Depok, West Java, on Monday (21/11/2022).

The acceleration of transition from the use of fossil energy to new and renewable energy (NRE) is absolutely needed. Indonesia can become a key player in speeding up energy transition because of its abundant NRE resources.

However, the utilization of NRE in Indonesia is still very low. In fact, they have very high potential such as water, sunlight, wind, geothermal sources and sea waves. “The water energy potential, for instance, is only 8 percent utilized. The use of wind energy is at 0.01 percent. So, a great deal more can still be exploited,” he said.

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According to Fadli, the acceleration of energy transition needs collaborative action with the government, business players and the public. Government regulations are considered very important to expedite the utilization of NRE in the future.

Energy transition also has an impact on energy supplier companies like Pertamina. The transition is not just limited to energy conversion, but it also performs the mission of decarbonization or reduction of carbon emissions.

“Pertamina is committed to the realization of energy transition. While previously it was entirely derived from natural gas, now there is the bio aspect, such as bioavtur and biodiesel,” he pointed out.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Deputy General Manager of Research and Development of Kompas BE Satrio (right) handed over a souvenir to the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Heri Hermansyah at the Kompas100 Forum: CEO on Stage at the Faculty of Engineering UI Building, Depok, Jakarta, Monday (21/11/2022).

The other change is the transition from oil-based fuel to electric energy. This effort has been carried out and cooperation undertaken with several parties, including online objects relied upon to ensure the mobility of residents.

“In terms of NRE, Pertamina has the vastest geothermal energy of 1.8 gigawatts. This will be boosted, along with solar panel energy. In the future, it will become commonplace. Nearly all buildings will have solar panels,” Fadli added.

Lowering emissions

Indonesia has pledged its commitment to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions until 2030 by 31.89 percent through its own efforts or by 43.2 percent if international aid is available. In the energy sector, Indonesia develops a road map leading to net-zero emissions in 2060.

“To achieve those targets, it’s necessary to make sure, what references as well as short-term and medium-term plans do we have? If we have none, just forget them. But if we do have, it means there’s still hope to reach the goals,” said the dean of the UI Faculty of Technology, Heri Hermansyah.

Campus research can be adjusted to industrial needs in responding to the challenge of energy transition.

In Heri’s view, the efforts to check the progress of the climate crisis by a call for cooperation in energy transition with a number of parties, including higher educational institutions. Campus research can be adjusted to industrial needs in responding to the challenge of energy transition.

“On campuses many projects are based on grants or aid from external sources. But very often, when the projects are over, the [research] activity also comes to a halt. It should be sustainable in the future,” he said.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

An officer checks the solar panels at the 600 KWP Solar Power Plant (PLTS) on Gili Trawangan, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Thursday (29/3/2018).

President director of Adaro Power, Dharma Djojonegoro, said energy transition would also need a change in the public’s behavior to use environment-friendlier energy. This can be started with the use of electric vehicles. “There should be public awareness. If electric vehicles are only considered expensive, there’s no intention to shift. Actually, the environmental aspect requires attention,” he said.

Dharma added that regulatory support was much needed by energy supplier companies. For this reason, dialogue with policymakers should be continuously done to produce supporting regulations. “Even the carbon tax has not yet been determined. It should first be announced so that dialogue can later follow,” he said.

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.