Indonesia's plan to retire coal plants 'challenging'

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's commitment to phase out coal plants in 15 years might be a tall order but not impossible, as long as there is political will, adequate financing and technology to advance the country's energy transition, analysts said.

Indonesia, a signatory to the Paris Agreement, has set a net zero emissions target by 2060 and has committed to phase out coal plants while boosting renewable energy capacity. But on Nov 19, at the G20 Summit in Brazil, Prabowo announced that Indonesia will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, phase out coal plants within the next 15 years and build 75 gigawatts of additional renewable energy.

"Although it is a challenging goal, with the right plan, policies, investment and international support, Indonesia has the potential to retire all of the coal-fired power plants within 15 years and replace them with renewable energy sources," Mutya Yustika, an energy finance specialist for Indonesia at the think tank Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, told China Daily.