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Members of the Climate Parliament MP network, including the convenor of our group in the India Parliament Dr Sanjay Jaiswal MP (r) as well as our Executive Director Dr Sanjay Kumar (l) have travelled to Jakarta this week to meet with Indonesian legislators and government officials in order to discuss climate change, renewable energy, and sustainable development. Indonesia has a key role to play in global climate action – ranked third in the world in tropical rainforest cover, the country is also one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, largely due to deforestation and peatland degradation.
As well as meeting a wide range of NGOs, academics and MPs, the Climate Parliament delegation met with two deputies from the Indonesian President's executive office as well as the Chief of Staff and Minister of Security, Politics and Human Rights, Mr Luhut Binsar Panjait (centre). The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including geothermal generation and the strong potential for solar energy – indeed, Indonesia is endowed with some of the richest and most consistent sunshine in the world, and solar energy must therefore play a key role in switching the nation's energy supply to clean, sustainable sources.
Renewable energy and regional clean energy interconnectors also have strong synergy with the five policy priority areas established by the new government: agriculture (through solar pumps supporting farmers), health (for example, solar powered health centres or off-grid solar powering refrigeration of medicines), manufacturing (as demand for solar equipment could drive local businesses and generate employment), and maritime connectivity (through green grid HVDC cables).
The Climate Parliament has worked closely with Indonesian legislators in the past – including bringing a delegation of MPs to London for a series of meetings with UK MPs and government officials earlier this year. We look forward to expanding our connections and continuing our work in the region in the near future.