This year, Indonesia has the opportunity to hold the position of Chair of ASEAN. Therefore, Indonesia promoted three priorities in the economic sector: Recovery and Rebuilding, Digital Economy, and Sustainability. Energy became one of the priority pillars of Sustainability and among the many facets of sustainability, energy transition was a critical component.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center (PYC) organized the official side event for ASEAN Chairmanship 2023, PYC International Energy Conference 2023 on 15-16 September 2023 at JS Luwansa Hotel, Jakarta. In this fourth conference, PYC highlighted the theme “Collaboration in Action for Inclusive Energy Roadmap.” This theme was chosen considering the importance of accelerating the energy transition that included not only the supply side but also the demand side. On the demand side, the transportation and industry sectors, as the two biggest energy consumption sectors in Indonesia, have been consuming massive amounts of fossil fuels. Energy transition in those two end-use energy sectors had different challenges and complexity than energy transition in the power sector. Moreover, the pathway and goal to decarbonize the end-use energy sector were rarely discussed. At the end of the conference, PYC will produce a policy brief. The policy brief could be seen as an important reference to create an inclusive energy transition roadmap. The roadmap was also expected to be an essential signal to the ASEAN region that Indonesia was capable of being a pioneer in formulating inclusive energy policies, which often was not considered by the stakeholders.
PYC IEC 2023 successfully brought prominent and distinguished speakers ranging from the government, university, private, and non-governmental organizations.
On the first day, the Opening of the conference and Plenary Session took place and were aiming at providing a high-level and comprehensive discussion on the importance of supply-side and demand-side collaboration to create an inclusive energy transition roadmap in ASEAN. The conference began with welcoming remarks from the Chairperson of PYC, Filda C. Yusgiantoro, and was officially opened by H.E. Arifin Tasrif, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) of the Republic of Indonesia, followed by a keynote speech delivered by Prof. John Thwaites, Chair of Monash Sustainable Development Institute & Climateworks Centre.
For the plenary session, PYC brought in ministerial speakers, who enlightened us with their insights and latest findings into the strategies for energy transition efforts seen from various perspectives, such as energy, human capital, education, transportation, and industry perspectives. The session aimed to provide the current conditions, the lessons learned, and the potential collaborations between ministries and ASEAN member states. The human capital perspective was delivered by H.E. Nadiem Makarim, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. The education perspective was delivered by H.E. Chan Chun Sing, the Minister of Education of Singapore. The transportation perspective was delivered by H.E. Dato’ Syed Md Hasrin Tengku Hussin, the Ambassador of Malaysia for Indonesia. The energy perspective was delivered by Dadan Kusdiana, the Secretary-General of MEMR. The industry perspective was delivered by Taufik Bawazeer, the Director-General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment & Electronic Industry of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia. The plenary session was moderated by Prof. Bambang P. S. Brodjonegoro, the Minister of Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (2019-2021).
On the second day, Parallel Sessions took place that discussed the readiness of energy transition seen from three perspectives: Policy, Human Capital, and Financing. There was also one discussion for Project Showcase for in-depth discussion on research conducted by PYC. For these parallel sessions, PYC brought in expert speakers in their field, coming from Indonesia and abroad. The speakers presented current and potential opportunities and challenges in achieving energy transition in Indonesia and ASEAN.
The policy session highlighted and focused on expediting the demand-side energy transition policies and how to accelerate them to boost the energy transition agenda. In this session, the discussion was delivered by Yudo Dwinanda Priaadi, the Director-General of New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, MEMR of the Republic of Indonesia; Sue Armstrong Brown, the Global Director of the Climate Change Team of CDP; Bobby Gafur Umar, the Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN); and Prof. John Black, Emeritus Professor & Foundation Professor of Transport Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney. The policy session was moderated by Alexander Ery Wibowo, Member of the Supervisory Board of the PYC.
The human capital session aimed to explore the role of human capital and workplace development in making the energy transition successful. The discussion zoomed out on the readiness of human capital in ASEAN and zoomed in on Indonesia. In this session, the discussion was delivered by Eric Roeder, a Technical Specialist on Green Jobs, Climate Actions, and Resilience through Just Transition in the Asia Pacific Region from the International Labor Organization (ILO); Anindito Aditomo, the Head of Education Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment Agency from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia; Roberto Rossi, the Cluster President of Indonesia and Timor Leste from Schneider Electric; and Prof. Djoko Santoso, Professor from Institut Teknologi Bandung. The human capital session was moderated by Filda Citra Yusgiantoro, Chairperson of the PYC.
The financing session aimed to explore financial issues and possible solutions to enhance the implementation of collaborative multilateral financing mechanisms and PPPs for energy transition in Indonesia as well as the ASEAN Region. In this session, the discussion was delivered by David Elzinga, the Principal Energy Specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Grant Hauber, the Strategic Energy Finance Advisor from the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA); Slamet Rona Ircham, the Management Advisor in the Directorate of Government Support and Infrastructure Financing Management at Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia; and Pradana Murti, the Director of Risk Management at PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero). The financing session was moderated by Inka B. Yusgiantoro, Head of the Supervisory Board of the PYC.
The project showcase session showcased the most recent research of PYC regarding the revolutionization of the electricity market in Indonesia by implementing peer-to-peer electricity trading using blockchain technology and solar panels. By combining these innovations, PYC researched a decentralized platform that enables direct energy trading among consumers, producers, and local businesses. In this session, the discussion was delivered by Alastair Marke, the Director-General from Blockchain and Climate Institute; Michael Suryaprawira, the Researcher of Purnomo Yusgiantoro Center; Wanhar, the Director of Electricity Program Development at the Directorate General of Electricity, MEMR; Zainal Arifin, the Director of Project Management and New Renewable Energy from PT PLN. The project showcase session was moderated by Luky A. Yusgiantoro, Member of the Governing Board of the PYC.
Apart from that, PYC also held the PYC IEC Competition 2023 program and we have received many exceptional works on infographics, photos, essays, and papers. Our deepest gratitude to the reviewers and juries: Prof. Zeily Nurachman from Institut Teknologi Bandung, Muhammad Indra Al Irsyad from Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN), Monika Merdekawati from ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), Vita Lystianingrum Budiharto Putri from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya, Christina Wahyu Kartikowati from Universitas Brawijaya, Albertus Prabu Siagian from Climate Policy Initiative, for their significant contribution to reviewing the submissions carefully. We would like to congratulate all the winners of the competition as well as the enthusiasm from all of the participants for our competitions.
Lastly, our sincere gratitude to all distinguished speakers who have provided us with invaluable insights as well as to our participants who have been actively engaging in all of the sessions. All of these contributions will greatly enrich the policy brief that PYC will be preparing in the near future. Our gratitude as well to our stakeholders, who have supported us in making the International Energy Conference 2023 happened.
