The development of the energy sector has negative as well as positive impacts on sustainable development. This paper is prepared by Pelangi to analyse the role of the energy sector in supporting sustainable development in Indonesia as part of the HELIO International Sustainable Energy Watch report.

The year 1990 was chosen to be the baseline and for some indicators the year 1998 was chosen instead of 2000. Yet there is no published data available on investment in clean energy or public sector share in energy investment.

Table 1. Sustainability Indicators for Indonesia
 

Note :

Indicator 1 : per capita carbon emission from the energy sector ; 
Indicator 2 : most significant energy related local pollutants ; 
Indicator 3 : households with access to electricity ;
Indicator 4 : investment in clean energy ; 
Indicator 5 : energy security or energy trade ; 
Indicator 6 : burden of energy investment ; Indicator 7 : energy productivity ; 
Indicator 8 : renewable energy deployment ; * using 1998's data

• The table, above, shows that there was no significant progress towards sustainability in the energy sector. All four pollutants - local and global - demonstrated increasing trends on a per capita basis. Similar pattern is demonstrated by the energy intensity (energy consumption per economic output).

• On average, carbon dioxide emissions (in terms of carbon) per capita in Indonesia increased at 5 percent annually, while other local pollutants increased at 26 percent annually.

• Access to electricity has progressed modestly. In eight years, the number of households that gained access to electricity increased by 115 percent, equivalent to a growth rate of about 10 percent per year.

• As a net exporter country, Indonesia has reduced its dependency to non-renewable sector. The contribution of non-renewable energy in national export was reduced by 65 percent in three years, equivalent to 12 percent annually. 

• Contribution of renewable energy in the energy sector in the period of 1990 - 1998 was increased considerably from 0.61 percent to 1.38 percent. The numbers are only for geothermal resources. While there was an increase in the installed capacity and consumption, there had been almost no progress in the role of renewable energy in Indonesia.