Jakarta (VNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) haspledged to support Indonesia’s transition to a low-carbon economy with fundingfor clean energy generation.

Addressing the 2021 International Climate Change Conferenceon July 22, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said that the bank is working withthe Indonesian government to examine the feasibility of an Energy TransitionMechanism (ETM) fund for the early retirement of existing coal-fired powerplants, while providing financing for geothermal and solar projects.  

ADB is supporting issuers including Indonesia’s state-ownedelectricity company, PLN, to start issuing sustainable bonds, he said, addingthat the bank will also assist the country in applying carbon tax which is ondiscussion.   

At the conference, the ADB leader said that the bank will provide at least 80 billion USD for countries to cope with climate change from 2019 to 2030cumulatively.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawatisaid that the country has allocated 4.1 percent of its budget to climate changeefforts in the past five years. However, the amount has just account for one-third of total budget needed to complete the target of reducing greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions in 2030, she said.

Indonesia has committed to cut 29 percent of GHG emissions using State budget./.