Charcoal
As Jakarta chokes on toxic air, Indonesian government stalls on taking action
JAKARTA — Jakarta’s recent episode of world-beating air pollution has highlighted what activists describe as belligerent inaction by the Indonesian government to address the source of the problem, even in the face of a ruling by the nation’s top court ordering it to act. On June 20, readings for PM2.5, a class of airborne pollutants […]
Planned coal plants fizzle as Japan ends financing in Indonesia, Bangladesh
JAKARTA — Major coal-fired power plant projects in Indonesia and Bangladesh have effectively been cancelled after the Japanese government, their main funder, recently announced it would stop providing loans to build such plants in the two countries. For Indonesia in particular, the move also means the loss of the top three foreign funders of coal […]
Coal miner Bayan sues Indonesian investment chief over loss of land
JAKARTA — Indonesian coal mining company Bayan Resources has challenged the government’s decision to revoke its permits and effectively shrink its concession area. The legal challenge is the latest in an ongoing battle over mining concessions in Indonesian Borneo between Bayan and another mining company, PT Senyiur Sukses Pratama (SSP). On April 8, five Bayan […]
Mine pits expose the holes in Indonesia’s plan to relocate its capital
JAKARTA — The Indonesian government’s controversial plan to move the nation’s capital from Jakarta to Borneo has hit one of several snags that critics have long warned about: the presence of thousands of abandoned coal-mining pits at the site of the new city. The environment minister, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, revealed the scale of the problem […]
Indonesian bill turns coal-derived fuels clean by ignoring true scale of emissions
JAKARTA — Indonesia looks set to continue its heavy reliance on coal in its energy mix under a legislative sleight of hand: it will define fuels derived from coal as “new energy” and ignore any carbon emissions associated with them as “minimal.” The proposal has drawn heavy criticism from energy experts, who say it contradicts […]
As blackouts loom, Indonesia’s energy crisis highlights its addiction to coal
JAKARTA — An abrupt ban on coal exports by the Indonesian government for the whole month of January, on fears of a domestic supply shortage, should be a wake-up call to hasten the country’s transition away from the fossil fuel, experts say. In announcing the ban on Jan. 1, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral […]
COP26 cop-out? Indonesia’s clean energy pledge keeps coal front and center
JAKARTA — Indonesia has signed another seemingly landmark pledge at the COP26 climate summit underway in Glasgow, this time to phase out its use of coal, the dominant source in its energy mix, by the 2040s. But as with the first pledge it made at COP26 — to end deforestation by 2030, which it then […]
Indonesia to retire coal-fired power plants while also adding more
JAKARTA — Indonesia says it will begin retiring coal-fired power plants for good — while still continuing to build more than a hundred new ones, in the latest mixed message from one of the last coal-friendly countries in the world. PLN, the state-owned power utility, which has a monopoly on the national grid, announced late […]