Environmental activists have renewed calls for the government to expedite what they call the “energy revolution”, by increasing the use of renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels.
The calls were made by Greenpeace, the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) and the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) on Wednesday.
The environmental groups conducted a joint study on the impact of coal-fired power plants in Cilacap in Central Java and Cirebon in West Java, and found that coal’s “footprint” was destructive in many ways, from the mining process to power plants that left local residents mired in poverty with poor access to electricity.
The report, titled Coal Kills, was published last month in Cirebon, when the government was banning Greenpeace’s flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, from entering Indonesian waters.
“Around 80 percent of the 462 people in Cilacap who underwent health checks had respiratory problems ranging from infections to bronchitis caused by coal dust,” Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Arief Fiyanto said.
The report says local farmers and fisherman in Cirebon also suffered financial losses from coal pollution.
“The government never calculates the external impacts of coal, such as environmental damage or forest loss caused by coal mining,” he said.
Walhi energy campaigner Pius Ginting said the government should phase out the use of coal as an energy source if Indonesia wants to cut emissions and prevent climate change.
“Coal is no longer suitable as an energy source given the damage it causes,” he said.
Indonesia, one of the biggest global producers of coal, has coal deposits of up to 109,940 billion tons in South Sumatra, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
In 2009, Indonesia produced about 263 million tons of coal, of which 230 million tons was exported, making Indonesia the biggest coal exporter after Australia.
Climate experts have blamed the burning of coal-based fuels as the main contributor to global warming.
Greenpeace renewable energy affairs campaigner, Hindun Mulaika, said the government should revolutionize its energy policy by shifting the country to renewable energy sources.
Hindun said Indonesia had abundant sources of renewable energy such as water, wind and solar power, but those sources remained untapped because of a lack of relevant government policy.
“There must be a breakthrough on regulations to promote renewable energy resources, such as eliminating subsidies given to coal-based fuels. Otherwise, Indonesia will never move to use renewable energy,” she said.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has set up a new directorate general on new and renewable energy and energy conservation.
Indonesia currently produces about 4.1 million kiloliters of bioethanol and 120,000 kiloliters of biodiesel per year.
The government also expects to boost geothermal energy in its power sector.
Indonesia’s geothermal capacity is estimated to be around 28,000 megawatts, but only 5 percent of this capacity has been developed.
