Energy and environment in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with more than 250 million people, it encompasses more than 17,000 islands. Indonesia is geographically located close to the equator and the islands have an abundance of natural resources. Indonesia has become one of the World's biggest coal and natural gas exporters. However, Indonesia struggles to achieve a good balance between energy security, environmental standards and economic growth. Development of a sustainable energy policy is seen as a key aspect that will allow Indonesia to achieve improved environmental standards. The development of Indonesian energy policy can be traced back to 1981 with the development of KUBE (Kebijakan Umum Bidang Energi) which aimed to achieve energy conservation and diversification. Since then Indonesian energy policy has been regularly updated (in 1987, 1991, 1993 and 2003). In the 2005 update, Indonesia set targets to achieve a 17% contribution from renewable energy in the energy mix by 2025 and reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 26% in 2020. In 2014, as part of the National Energy Policy (KEN), Indonesia updated their energy policy to reflect the latest energy growth and trends. This study explores the trends in Indonesia's energy and environment issues through a comprehensive review of the published literature on issues such as energy development, air pollution, GHG emissions and sociopolitical aspects of energy, from 1982 to 2016. This information is analysed to help understand how energy supply and use interacts with the environment and what this might mean for future energy policy in Indonesia