Indonesia Could Benefit Greatly From Achieving Net Zero Sooner
The Jakarta Post
The following is an excerpt of Kevin Rudd, Ban Ki-moon, and Muhamad Chatib Basri's op-ed originally published in The Jakarta Post.
In September, Indonesia joined the small list of countries that actually responded to a formal call to strengthen their Paris Agreement targets in 2022. Then, as host of the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit in November, the country announced a series of new targets, including its aim to reach 34 percent renewable-energy generation by 2030, as well as peak its power sector emissions by the same date and bring them to net zero by 2050.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo clearly spoke from the heart when he remarked in his G20 opening speech: “We do not just talk, but we take concrete steps.”
Why is Indonesia acting now? One reason is because the economics make sense. In a new report released this week, we on the independent High-Level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero unpack why this is the case.