Figure 1. The Ensight Speakers and Moderator.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC) is conducting a series of webinar events this month to commemorate its 4th anniversary. The Energy Insight (The Ensight) is the first ever webinar conducted by PYC and live streamed through the official PYC YouTube channel on June 6th, 2020 with the theme “The New (Energy) Normal: How Pandemic Reshapes Indonesia’s Energy Sector”. The PYC has selected the theme to explore the impact of pandemic COVID-19 disease on the global and domestic energy sector. The event is aimed to facilitate a discussion forum between policymakers, researchers and energy practitioners. Invited as main speakers were Dr. Chatib Basri, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, 2013-2014, and Mr. Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016-2019. The webinar was opened by Mrs. Filda Yusgiantoro, Chairperson of PYC, then followed by presentations from the two distinguished speakers and concluded with questions and answers session.
Currently, the world is experiencing a new shock that no country has experienced before. During the first three months of 2020, IEA data shows that coal and oil demand have decreased more than 7%, while renewable energy demand has slightly increased. Dr. Basri concludes that the new shock of the pandemic has amplified the impact to the global economy because cross-country activities have been forced to stop. Hence, government should focus on the health sector, social protection and business activities by prioritizing its budget, shifting agenda that is not important and rerouting all subsidies to those that are mostly affected by the pandemic. Going forward, Mr. Jonan hopes Indonesia can rapidly execute its energy transition and significantly reduce costs in the oil and gas sector because not all fossil fuels can be converted to renewable energy. In summary, the current pandemic condition can be viewed as an opportunity for many countries and international institutions to embrace one another and encourage people to live in a sustainable environment.
