‘Not true’ that Indonesia will shut down all coal plants by 2040, says climate and energy envoy

Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto’s pledge to retire the country’s fossil fuel plants last year was “misquoted by the media”, claims the leader’s brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo, arguing that such a move would be “economic suicide”.

Hashim Djojohadikusumo speaking at a conference - Feb 2025
At a conference last Friday, Indonesia's climate and energy envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo reneged on a prior 2040 coal phase-out pledge as well as cast doubt on the Just Energy Transition Partnership and the Paris Agreement after the United States' retreat from both multilateral climate initiatives. Image: PLN

Just weeks into his presidency, Indonesia’s new leader Prabowo Subianto made the unexpected vow to retire the country’s entire fleet of fossil-fuelled power plants by 2040.

But according to the Southeast Asian nation’s climate and energy envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo, it is “not true” that Indonesia – which is the world’s largest coal exporter – has pledged to wean itself off climate-warming sources of energy in the next 15 years.

“We don’t want to commit economic suicide,” said Hashim, who is also the Indonesian president’s younger brother and close advisor. He was speaking at a sustainability forum in Jakarta last Friday.

“If we close the [coal] power plants, our economy will be destroyed,” he said. “After 2040, there will be no new [coal] power plants. That’s what pak Prabowo meant.” 

“There is no country on this Earth that will close down its [coal] power plants. Not a single one,” said Hashim. “Germany is now feeling the negative impact of the closure of its nuclear power plants. Due to the war in Ukraine, cheap gas imports from Russia were forced to stop, and now Germany’s economy is stagnating. Indonesia does not want to repeat the bitter experiences experienced by other countries.”

In response to Eco-Business’ queries, Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at energy think tank Ember Energy said that this “does not necessarily mean a u-turn” for Indonesia’s coal phase-out plans. 

“Indonesia’s journey for phasing out coal is challenging and will need support from international climate financing,” she said. “Policymakers are aware that the transition needs to happen and are looking for ways to accelerate this, but of course it will happen at a pace suitable for Indonesia.” 

Katherine Hasan, an analyst with research non-profit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), told Eco-Business that it is “very important” for the president’s office to provide clarity on the commitment that was originally conveyed by Prabowo at the G20 summit last November.

Separately, Hashim revealed plans to construct up to 4.3 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power, as part of the government’s plans to build new power plants with a combined capacity of up to 103 GW, with 75 per cent coming from cleaner energy sources like geothermal, wind, solar and biomass

“If I’m not mistaken, the plan includes small modular floating reactors and one or two large nuclear power plants,” he added.

Last December, another government official said that the aim was to begin harnessing nuclear energy by 2032, despite concerns around the cost, safety and risks involved, especially in managing the radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.

While nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases, environmental groups have questioned if Indonesia has the financial capacity to manage the toxic byproducts, which if not handled properly, could contaminate the environment.

CREA’s Hasan, however, stressed that Indonesia should prioritise solar and wind projects to reach its renewables targets ahead of the 2040 deadline. A recent report she co-authored stated that the country currently has at least 16.5 GW of prospective solar projects – over 30 per cent higher than the current solar target outlined in its national electricity plan. 

“Renewable energy – solar and wind power in particular – has become cheaper than coal power, even in many coal-dominant economies around the world. Given the current ambition to reach 8 per cent economic growth and the country’s vastly untapped clean energy potential, it would be very much in Indonesia’s economic development interest to reaffirm national commitments and start implementing the pathway to a fossil-free future.” 

Casting doubt on JETP and Paris Agreement

In his speech, Hashim also called the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a mechanism launched in 2022 which pledged US$20 billion in financing from rich nations to help Indonesia decarbonise – a failure.

“Not one dollar has been disbursed by the American government,” he said. “The US government has made a lot of promises, like a US$5 billion grant as part of the US$20 billion JETP. But it turns out the grant doesn’t actually exist. There is a clause in the JETP stating that the US$5 billion will only be granted if funds are available. After checking, they said, ‘Oh sorry, the funds are not available.’”

However, according to the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), an Indonesian think tank, funder countries have already disbursed US$230 million in grants and technical assistance, alongside US$1 billion in equity investments and loans, for approved programmes and projects. A further US$5.2-6.1 billion has been allocated to 19 projects pending approval, while US$2 billion has been provided in the form of guarantees from the UK and US governments to reduce project risks and loan interest rates, it added.

Hashim’s remarks coincided with the US withdrawing from its role as co-leader of JETP and passing on the mantle to Germany. This follows US president Donald Trump’s recent decision to quit the Paris climate accords, which Hashim said invalidates the utility of the multilateral agreement.

“If the US, which is currently the second-biggest polluter after China, refuses to comply with the international agreement, why should countries like Indonesia comply?” he asked.

“This is a matter of justice. Indonesia produces 3 tonnes of carbon [per person] while the US produces 13 tonnes, yet we are the ones being told to close our power plants… Where is the justice in that?” said Hashim.

All Paris agreement signatories are due to submit new 2035 climate targets by 10 February. But with the deadline just a week away, only six countries – one of which is the US – have submitted their national plans so far. The others include the COP30 climate summit’s host Brazil, Switzerland, Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Prabowo had previously said that Indonesia would achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 – a decade earlier than his predecessor Joko Widodo’s commitment.

Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of IESR, urged the Indonesian government to reinforce its commitment to the energy transition and to target net-zero emissions by 2060 or earlier. He added that the JETP doesn’t “solely rely on the US government”.

“The International Partners Group (IPG) consists of multiple countries and international financial institutions that remain committed to funding Indonesia’s energy transition,” Fabby said. “Hashim has no authority or mandate to evaluate and prevent the early coal retirement programme [under JETP] on behalf of the government despite being the president’s special envoy on climate and energy.”

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