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Renewable Energy Subsidies & Fossil Fuel Phase-Out

In 2014, consumption subsidies for fossil fuels were three times more than renewable subsidies. However, a simple comparison does not show the extent to which renewable energy is disadvantaged nor show the opportunities that come with phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.

Health Organizations, Help Indonesia Kick the Coal Habit

September 18, 2017 | Erica Petrofsky
Indonesians’ lungs have been exposed to significant pollution in the past few years, from forest fire haze to increasing amounts of motor vehicle exhaust. A study looking at the greater Jakarta area attributed 3,700 premature deaths per year to air pollution from 2012 to 2015. The national and regional governments of Indonesia are trying to tackle some of these issues through, for example, banning land clearance by burning and improving public transit. But there’s one area, power generation, where current government policies are on course to make Indonesia’s air pollution worse.

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How Indonesia Might Turn Its Back on a Future of Cheaper Renewable Electricity

August 9, 2017 | Lourdes Sanchez
Short-term gain can lead to long-term pain. This might be the case with Indonesia’s recent decision to bet on coal as its preferred source to supply reliable and affordable electricity. Indonesia’s decision comes at a time when the rest of the world is moving in the opposite direction: countries are increasingly switching from coal to renewables and encouraging competition between power generators to obtain the best prices.

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Reports: At the Crossroads: Balancing the financial and social costs of coal transition in China

July 22, 2017
The boom and eventual bust of resource-dependent regions has played out across the world many times over the last 50 years. As extractive industries go into decline due to resource exhaustion, competition from elsewhere or changing consumption of energy, demands are made for subsidies to revive the industry and maintain jobs. Concurrently, policy-makers, realizing that the decline of a resource extraction industry will cause social and economic hardship, begin the search for new industries to replace lost jobs and maintain economic development.

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The True Cost of Coal and Renewables in Indonesia

June 13, 2017 | Richard Bridle
Indonesia is facing an energy crunch as demand for electricity rises across the country. The country is one of the world’s largest coal producers, and is developing plans for an additional 35 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power stations. Proponents of the development claim that coal is the cheapest source of energy available.

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