Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Says the Republic of Indonesia Has the Potential to Save 400 Gigatons of Carbon Emissions

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Pandjaitan revealed that Indonesia has the potential and opportunity to permanently store carbon emissions through Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) technology.

In his presentation, he mentioned the current storage potential in Indonesia, which is estimated to reach 400 gigatons and presents significant business and investment opportunities in this country.

"Carbon capture and storage presents a promising technology that has been applied in global countries," he said at the 2023 International and Indonesia CCS Forum (IICCS Forum), Monday, September 11.

He added that the CCS sector is growing rapidly, offering investors the opportunity to be at the forefront of a revolutionary industry that promises long-term financial returns while fulfilling the responsibility of zero emissions as an investment license for global industries.

"Recent global investment in CCS has reached 6.4 billion US dollars and Asia contributed 1.2 billion US dollars. Indonesia is ready to be a major part of this technology investment," he continued.

Furthermore, he added, the development of a CCS center in Indonesia has enormous potential because this region has the necessary resources from CO2 storage sites and adjacent industrial sites, including partners from East Asian industry for international carbon transport.

"The implementation of a regional carbon tax also provides an economic boost to this project. Existing oil and gas facilities from Aceh, North Java, Kalimantan, and recent developments in Papua are technically feasible for CCS operations. By encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing, we can take advantage CCS's full potential to realize a sustainable future in Southeast Asia," he explained.

Therefore, Luhut said, it is very important for this event to discuss Indonesia's success further, which is also a side event of the ASEAN Summit.

"We are confident that our collective efforts to define the regulatory framework can provide a clear message, Indonesia will be a pioneer in implementing CCS in the following years," he concluded.