On 22-23 April 2024, the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) hosted the Indonesia COMMITTED Modelling and Stakeholder Workshop 2024 as part of an EU-funded project called COMMITTED (Climate pOlicy assessment and Mitigation Modelling to Integrate national global TransiTion pathways for Environment-friendly Development). Held in Jakarta, the workshop aims to create a joint understanding among energy modellers and identify further options for sharing modelling output in policy processes in Indonesia. The workshop was attended by Indonesia‘s institutions and experts on energy modelling, such as official governments, think tanks, and universities. Over the course, participants have delved into Indonesia-specific challenges for climate policy and exchanged learning on global modelling work towards Net Zero Emission (NZE). 

The workshop is part of the overarching project goal of reinforcing global climate change mitigation efforts by supporting the work of Asian researchers and experts on national and sectoral greenhouse gas emissions modelling. This project exchanges best practices and know-how between leading EU and Asian modellers working closely with the government. The targeted countries under this project are China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Viet Nam.  

There are 12 consortium members for this project, consisting of ACE, International University Vietnam National University (IU-HCMC), Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Energy Economy Environment Modelling (E3 Modelling), Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and managed by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. In the ASEAN region, ACE will support the input from Indonesia, while HCM-IU represents Vietnam. . Each consortium member also attended the workshops on site and virtually to enhance participants’ understanding of the use of models in assisting the decision-making process in Indonesia. 

Photo 1. Opening Remarks from Mr. Wanhar from Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia (MEMR) and Dr. Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Managers of ACE 

To officially open the workshop, Mr. Wanhar, Alternate SOE (Senior Official on Energy) Leader of Indonesia, encouraged the attendees to understand the importance of enhanced modelling capacity to accelerate energy transition. Dr. Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Manager of ACE, delivered his opening remarks, expressing gratitude towards COMMITTED consortium members for lending their hands to organise the workshop. He also underscored his aspiration for the workshop to enrich the capacity of modellers in Indonesia. 

The first session started with a brief introduction of the COMMITTED Project by Prof. Detlef van Vuuren, Project Leader of COMMITTED from PBL, followed by the sharing of several global scenarios towards net-zero for the cost-optimal ways of meeting two (2) degrees goal by Dr. Isabela Tagomori from PBL. Dr. Rahel Mandaroux from PIK presented model validation and assessed current technology trends in Indonesia, both short– and long-term trends, which include electricity generation, hydropower, and biomass. Dr. Siddarth Joshi from IIASA displayed the global modelling work through MESSAGEix energy system tool.  

Photo 2. Introduction to COMMITTED Project by Prof. Detlef, Project Leader of COMMITTED (left); Discussion session on the COMMITTED Project (right) 

ACE representatives also shared some key insights on ACE‘s upcoming reports, the 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO8) and the Lao PDR Net-Zero Report. Mr. Michael Petalio, Energy Modeller at ACE, shared his insight on his current modelling work for the AEO8 using LEAP software, followed by Ms. Aldilla Rakhiemah, who presented the development of the Lao PDR Net-Zero initial findings and its technical approach also using LEAP software. The development is part of the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT). 

Photo 3. Presentation by Dr. Yoga Pratama from IIASA (left); Hybrid discussion on the national-net-zero commitment with Dr. Soheil Shayegh and Lara Aleluia Reis from CMCC (right)

The session delved more into Indonesia-specific energy modelling through the presentation from Sadmoko Pambudi from the National Energy Council (DEN), encompassing Indonesia‘s Energy Outlook and new modelling approaches and scenarios based on Indonesia‘s region‘s assumption and energy landscape. Dr. Yoga Pratama from IIASA further shared the global implementation of MESSAGE-ix tool and the economies-of-scale concepts with the case study for direct air capture. Dr. Panagiotis Fragkos from E3M discussed the energy transition towards deep decarbonisation and the socio-economic impact. The session continued to deeply discuss its relevance for model development in Indonesia and what can be improved from it. 

The first–day workshop concluded with a presentation from Dr. Retno Gumilang from the Institute Technology of Bandung (ITB), discussing the Indonesia energy transition policy and its modelling scenarios through a backcasting approach for the national long-term strategy. Following that, Dr. Soheil Shayegh from CMCC then explored how to transition from NDCs to national-net-zero commitment targets and shared energy modelling through another EU-funded project called ELEVATE (Enabling and Leveraging Climate Action Towards Net-Zero Emissions) for their scenarios serve as baseline. 

Photo 4. Remarks from Henriette Faergemann from EEAS-Jakarta

The second day began with Henriette Faergemann, First Counsellor for Climate Action, Environment, and ICT of EEAS (European External Action Service) Jakarta, delivering her welcoming remarks. Henriette highlighted the importance of EU-Indonesia cooperation on environment, climate action, and collaboration in achieving the global net zero commitment. The session delves further into discussing Asia’s progress in the global transition to net zero by David Raitzer from ADB.

Michael Petalio, Energy Modeller at ACE, showed the preliminary findings of Indonesia’s energy outlook until 2050, emphasising the need for advanced technology to be adapted with a careful budget consideration to have measurable progress on climate mitigation and adaptation.  Vicky Pollard from DG CLIMA attended virtually, discussing the role of modelling tools in EU’s policy planning and the future implementation of CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) and Carbon Pricing as EU’s policy instrument in supporting the energy transition. Prof. Edvin Adrian from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) presented the Indonesian Climate Policy Update, emphasising the huge potential of geothermal energy in Indonesia.

Dr. Dewa Ekayana from BKF (Fiscal Policy Agency, Ministry of Finance Indonesia) shared his insights about the finance perspective in achieving net zero, highlighting the need for optimalisation of carbon tax implementation in Indonesia. Dr.  Panagiotis from E3M and Dr.  Rahel from PIK shared the technical perspectives, including potential scenario and assumptions that need to be addressed to construct a realistic model on the socioeconomic aspect.

Photo 5. Presentation by Prof. Eniya on the Indonesia’s Net Zero Policy (left); Roundtable discussion on Indonesia’s strategies to improve model-policy interactions of national climate ambitions (right)

Prof. Eniya Listiani Dewi from MEMR delivered a presentation on Indonesia’s Net Zero Policy, addressing the urgent need for Indonesia to implement low-carbon technologies, such as CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) implementation in coal power plants. Prof. Eniya also mentioned that notable progress is currently underway in Indonesia’s energy policies in accelerating renewable energy share to accomplish the national net zero target.

The workshop ended with a roundtable discussion moderated by Prof. Detlef from PBL. The session focused on exploring strategies to improve model-policy interaction regarding Indonesia’s climate ambitions, and was attended by Andreas Fazekas from DG Clima, Prof. Edvin from IPCC, Dr. Aqsha from ITB, and Prof. Eniya from MEMR. The interactive discussion noted Indonesia’s policy strategy towards NZE, including the cost efficiency on hydropower and biofuel utilisation and share best practices on the Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that was just implemented in the EU.

The next workshop organised by COMMITTED will be held in India and hosted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).