Commentary: Indonesia’s coal industry is on its last legs
It’s time to put to rest the myth that using coal, which Indonesia’s economy now relies on, can be a long-term resource for the country’s energy needs, says Greenpeace's Tata Mustasya.
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s coal industry is running out of options.
The pot of money for coal power is drying up. On Apr 22, South Korea announced it will no longer provide financial support for overseas coal projects. China seems to be the only country willing to provide the immense financial aid that Indonesia’s bloated coal industry needs to keep going.
East Asia has historically been the source of finance for Indonesia’s coal industry, where pro-coal market controls and state support for intensive coal mining have made fossil fuels cheap and abundant. Coal makes up almost 40 per cent of the country’s en...