Jakarta: Young generation plays an important role in the energy transition process in Indonesia as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dadan Kusdiana, has said.
Speaking at the ASEAN Golden Generation Conference: Synergy for the World held recently in Bandung city, West Java province, Kusdiana said that young people are expected to help popularise the importance of direct participation in new renewable energy (EBT) development, create technological innovations in the EBT sector or maybe even participate in the development of startups by taking advantage of local energy potential.
He acknowledged that Indonesia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Indonesia experienced an annual temperature rise of about 0.03 degree Celsius between 1981 and 2018.
Climate change cannot be separated from human activities that emit carbon, therefore, Indonesia emphasises promoting renewable energy developm
ent and reducing energy sector emissions to reduce carbon emissions.
According to Kusdiana, Indonesia has opportunities in terms of renewable energy, but they haven’t yet been fully exploited. Thus, he called for boosting collaboration between the government and academia, including representatives from universities and research institutes to support the governments of Southeast Asian countries in general and Indonesia in particular to optimise EBT development in the region.
Organised by Kappija21, an organisation of alumni of the Japan-ASEAN Youth Friendship Programme for the 21st Century and the Training Programme For Young Leaders, the event brought together 150 students from 35 universities in Indonesia and several ASEAN countries./
Source: Vietnam News Agency