Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that the country’s phasing out coal plan in 2040 would need sufficient financial help from the international community.
"If we are going to put forward until 2040, then we need to have funding to retire coal earlier and to build the new capacity of renewable energy," Sri said.
The 2040 target was previously not confirmed, only been said by President Joko Widodo to British PM Boris Johnson.
On Wednesday, Indonesia will reveal the technical details of the plan beyond rhetoric.
The country will also require international support in the assurance that upon its switch to renewable sources, electricity remains affordable. Sri cited a temporary calculation for a need of USD10-23 billion in subsidies to renewable power projects through 2030.
At the moment, coal makes up 65% of Indonesia’s energy mix. The country is the biggest coal exporter in the world and the eighth biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter.
In the upcoming eight years, there are 5.5 GW of coal power plants that could be retired early. The process is estimated to cost USD25-30 billion. The Asia Development Bank (ADB) is now leading a group of financial institutions to quicken the closings of coal-fired power plants in Indonesia by buying the assets and shutting them.
