Fighting The Climate Crisis, Puan Asks The Government To Expand Open Investment For Renewable Energy Projects

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, encourages the Government to increase investment projects in the field of new and renewable energy (EBT). By opening many projects in the field of renewable energy, he assessed that Indonesia could quickly achieve its target in fighting the climate crisis.

"With the expansion of investment projects in the renewable energy sector, we hope that efforts to fight the climate crisis can be more massive because we know the impact of climate change is very significant on people's lives," said Puan, Thursday, October 19.

It was recently discovered that PT PLN (Persero) is collaborating with Chinese companies for the development of new and renewable energy (EBT) in Indonesia. Nine Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have just been signed with a total cooperation valuation value of more than US$ 54 billion or around Rp. 848.7 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp. 15,718 per US$), including funding.

Seeing this progress, Puan supports the development of electricity through renewable energy. He said the project would certainly have an impact on climate improvement where the climate crisis occurs a lot due to the use of carbon substances that damage Earth's atmosphere.

"This project is a step forward in encouraging the renewable energy program. I support every project that is intended as an effort to widen the realization of the energy transition in Indonesia," he said.

Therefore, Puan encourages more State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) to open an EBT project to attract investors.

"A project like that is indeed important as one of the main solutions to overcome the climate crisis by building a sustainable renewable new energy ecosystem," explained Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture explained that the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, as well as ecosystem damage were serious problems that threaten the balance of the Earth. Puan said it was time for the world to move to use energy that did not damage the planet.

"And to build on the habit of using environmentally friendly energy should start from state policies. In recent years, we have witnessed a drastic increase in the use of renewable energy, which helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels that damage the environment," he explained.

On this basis, Puan also encouraged the Government to further open up investment space in the energy transition sector. However, he reminded, investment cooperation must be carried out in a fair, transparent, and profitable manner for Indonesia.

"The government must uphold the principle of openness and transparency in negotiations and the implementation of investment agreements. Information regarding agreements, costs, benefits, and provisions must be disclosed to the public," said Puan.

Before the official cooperation was carried out, Bung Karno's grandson also reminded the Government to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact study. According to Puan, this is to ensure that the proposed renewable energy projects do not harm the environment and society.

"So don't just pursue investment value but forget other impacts on the environment and society. We are currently pursuing environmental improvements, but don't let the realization of cooperation harm our people just because we want to boost investment," he said.

On the other hand, Puan also emphasized the importance of the Government ensuring that local people where the investment is implemented have the opportunity to participate in renewable energy projects.

"Both in the provision of labor and in the supply chain we must prioritize domestic human resources. Even though this is an outside investment, it must benefit the surrounding community," concluded Puan.