Indonesia delays plan to invest $20 bln in energy transition funds - Reuters
Indonesia delays plan to invest $20 bln in energy transition funds | Reuters
Indonesia delays plan to invest $20 bln in energy transition funds
A local rides a motorbike on a road near geothermal power station unit (PLTP) owned by PT. Geo Dipa Energi (Persero) at Dieng mountain area in Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia, November 15, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
JAKARTA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia has pushed back until later this year plans to announce investments from a fund of $20 billion pledged by rich countries and global lenders to help speed transition to cleaner energy sources, authorities said on Wednesday.
A coalition of nations led by the United States and Japan, has promised to mobilise public and private finance under the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
The initiative aims to help Indonesia shutter coal power plants, adopt greener sources of power and advance the sector's peak emissions target by seven years to 2030.
The detailed investment plan was widely expected to be made public on Wednesday, but the officials charged with drafting it said the timeline for publication had been delayed as additional data was added to the model.
The delay would allow technical experts the further time needed to prepare a credible pathway for the power sector transition, they said in a statement.
The government and the JETP partners have received a draft of the plan, the officials said, but details will not be made public until the government has reviewed it.
A think tank, the Institute for Essential Services Reform, which is part of the technical working group, said power plants now being developed by manufacturers for their own industrial use would have to be added to the experts' calculation.
Environmentalists have criticised the drafting process for a perceived lack of transparency.
"Without the intense transparency of the funding scheme, a just energy transition is not possible," said Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies think tank.
He added that he feared affected communities were not being considered in the planning.
The JETP Indonesia Secretariat said the delayed timeline would also provide a window for public comment before the investment plan was finalised.
Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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