Multibillion-dollar effort is timely to wean more nations off coal

LAST month, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, the host nation Indonesia scored a major coup when it was announced that the European Union and several G20 governments had pledged US$20 billion in private and public financing to help South-east Asia’s largest economy phase out its main energy source – coal.

It’s a major initiative under the Just Transition Energy Partnership (JTEP), which aims to guide Indonesia away from fossil fuels and steer it towards renewable sources.

A week ago, the G7 industrialised nations said that they have pledged US$15.5 billion to help Vietnam transition away from coal, also as part of the JTEP. These are significant measures and sums, and they come hot on the heels of a US$8.5 billion deal that was announced at last year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow to help South Africa reduce its heavy dependence on coal.