Priorities and pathways to implementation for energy and urban sustainable development goals for Indonesia

This project aimed to bring together leaders and experts from academia, government, business and civil society to discuss Indonesia’s future energy needs, identify how they can be met in line with decarbonisation and sustainability goals, and to develop plans for collaborative solutions. 

The project’s major activity was a two-day workshop on Priorities and Pathways for Sustainable Energy and Deep Decarbonisation in Indonesia. The workshop took place in November 2014 in Jakarta and was attended by more than 100 participants. 

The workshop was jointly hosted by the Research Center for Climate Change (RCCC) at Universitas Indonesia, Monash University and the United in Diversity Forum under the auspices of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). It was held in partnership with the Indonesian Minister for Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya. Presenters included the Indonesian Minister of Finance, the Governor of Jakarta, and many other prominent leaders from Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Australia. Energy experts from Monash University, the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, and the University of Technology Sydney participated in the workshop. 

Participants discussed how Indonesia’s rapidly growing energy needs can be met while also addressing the objectives of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the need to reduce global carbon emissions. Working in breakout groups on key areas for energy in Indonesia – deep decarbonisation, renewables, urban and island sustainability, transport, and energy for sustainable tourism – participants considered what a sustainable energy future for Indonesia looks like, identified major opportunities for realising it, and put forward concrete project ideas. 

The priorities identified included incentives for renewables, integrated transport planning, biofuels, transport electrification in cities, energy efficient building codes, remote island electrification and renewables, and capacity building for policy makers and the public on sustainable energy. The summaries of the breakout group outcomes have been collated, and a follow-up event to discuss them was hosted by US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake in February 2015. As a result of the workshop several ongoing collaborative activities have been initiated between Indonesian and Australian participants. 

ClimateWorks Australia, in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Institute of Technology Bandung, the Green Building Council of Indonesia and the Jakarta Property Institute, undertook a collaborative project to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings across Australia and Indonesia. The project was funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It involved a full-day workshop in Jakarta in October 2015 with Australian and Indonesian experts from government, the property sector, the energy and energy efficiency services sector and from universities. Participants discussed building codes and standards; information and incentives; skills, products and services; and finance, and worked collaboratively to identify, prioritise and start planning six tangible program ideas that can deliver real improvements in the energy performance of buildings in Indonesia. For each project, individuals self-nominated as coordinators, and ClimateWorks committed to supporting these coordinators develop project ideas and source funding. This project also involved an exchange trip for two Indonesian stakeholders from the Green Building Council of Indonesia and the Jakarta Property Institute to come to Australia and meet a broader range of stakeholders. This trip took place in November 2015. 

The workshop also helped develop relationships on deep decarbonisation pathways and expand networks in the area of remote area electrification, which were subsequently taken forward in another AIC grant. This project brought together key stakeholders and experts to explore the implications for Indonesia of UN proposals for sustainable development goals in the key areas of energy/deep decarbonisation and sustainable cities, and to start developing plans and partnerships for how Indonesia can implement these goals.