Photo: Embassy of Sweden in Indonesia, Facebook.
The respective ambassadors from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark in Indonesia have taken it upon them to show the South-East Asian nation that renewable energy is within reach without costing a fortune according to Jakarta Post.
The mission follows Indonesia earlier expressed desire to follow in the foot-steps of the Nordics in investing in green power.
Yet, the ambassadors face quite the challenge, as there, according to them, is a common belief in Indonesia, that sustainability requires a mountain of gold.
“Most of them are cheaper than fossil fuels. But that realization has not really dawned in Indonesia, where politicians are still saying that it’s a trade-off between affordability and sustainability,” Rasmus A. Kristensen, Danish Ambassador said in an interview with local media.
But even though the youth will gladly replace coal and other heavily polluting energy sources with cleaner energy such as wind the issue requires a little more than a desire for the environment among young people.
Hence, while young people in Indonesia have started caring about where the energy comes from when they turn on the lights, there is a lack of political will according to the ambassadors.
The state-owned electricity off-taker PLN has announced plans to construct two additional units at a coal-fired power station. This has met criticism as the president has expressed a concern and interest in renewable energy.
Worth it in the long run
Finnish Ambassador Jari Sinkari, Norwegian Ambassador Vegard Kaale and Swedish Ambassador Marina Berg have along with Rasmus A. Kristensen called for climate awareness in Indonesia.
The goal is to convince the Indonesian politicians that while it may be costly to adapt to greener energy, it is a worthwile investment which will get cheaper over time.
Furthermore, the Finnish Ambassador said that if Indonesia were to show greater interest in developing green energy, it would likely attract investments from sustainability-minded companies.
According to the Nordic Energy Research, Nordic inhabitants get the pleasure of renewable energy one third of the time. That one third of energy supply typically comes from wate and biomass.
In comparison, Indonesians only get 12 percent of their electricity from clean energy power plants. The remaining power is mainly from coal-based plants according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
