Jakarta, 15th of August 2023 –Project Clean, Affordable, and Secure (CASE) Energy for Southeast Asia held a media briefing event on the flagship theme of Measuring Southeast Asia’s Climate Ambition under Indonesia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN 2023. This event aimed at facilitating a discussion and disseminating in-depth information regarding Southeast Asia’s Climate ambition as well as current updates on the process of transitioning to cleaner energy toward media stakeholders.
Today, we are living in a world where the flow of information is rapidly changing, which puts media in a critical position in ensuring the dissemination of fact-based information to the wider audience. Media plays a significant role in messaging policy as a forefront of public bodies in extending important information on their policies and programs as well as how it will benefit the public. It also becomes an active participant in the decision-making process that is able to represent the voices of the public as feedback toward government policies and programs. This has put an urgency of having a public dialogue with non-energy stakeholders including the media and academia, thus, CASE Indonesia held a media briefing event inviting the Director for ASEAN Economy Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Researcherfor Energy and Climate from Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), International Relations Lecturer from UPN Veteran Jakarta, and fellow journalists across Indonesia.
As Indonesia is currently hosting the Chairmanship of ASEAN 2023, it allows Indonesia in driving other member states to achieve climate ambitions. Fabby Tumiwa, as the Executive Director of Institute of Essential Services Reform (IESR) emphasized that ASEAN collectively has the power to push economic development and build a more competitive region. The issue of climate change was also highlighted as a threat that needs to be anticipated together with ASEAN state members.
Muhammad Asrofi as Senior Planner of the Directorate of Electricity, Telecommunication, and Informatics from the Ministry of National Development Planning PPN/Bappenas also gave a spotlight on achieving Indonesia’s climate target through energy transition. There are several regulations that push Indonesia to move towards clean energy including General National Energy Planning, National Medium Term Development Plan, and Article 16/2016. He also mentioned about national policy directions on the power sector including the utilization of renewables through interconnection of large inter-island and international power grids, realizing the productivity of electricity management and realizing Equitable Electricity Services.
During the event, the headline focuses on cooperation as Berlianto Pandaputan Hasudungan, Director for ASEAN Economy Cooperation, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned regarding its role to advance ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023. Under ASEAN Matters: Indonesia will set cooperation direction in the next 20 years with ASEAN vision post 2025. Indonesia hopes that in the era of global boiling, economic development in Indonesia will still strive to achieve its target.
Shahnaz Nur Firdausi from Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) puts a focal point on how Indonesian policies should be able to reduce emission and consistent aligning to the Paris Agreement.
To end the discussion, Dr. Hartanto from UPN Veteran Jakarta touches upon the challenges for Indonesia as the Chairmanship of the ASEAN including the importance of advocacy, strengthen the framework of international cooperation amongst the differences around the ASEAN member states to achieve climate targets. Hence, it also requires the support from media and journalists in paving the way for advocacy.
