BRICS can facilitate ASEAN's green transition

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The balmy weather in northern Jakarta brings with it the scent of the sea as well as fishermen's worries — rising sea levels, declining fish catches, and increasing prices of daily necessities — highlighting the conflicting realities in Indonesia and many other countries in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia has about 40 percent of the world's geothermal reserves and, as a tropical area, it can store 200 gigawatts of solar energy. Indonesia's goal is clear: 31 percent renewables in the national energy mix by 2050 and net-zero emissions by 2060.

However, Indonesia faces some significant challenges, because despite their immense potential, renewable energy comprises a mere 13 percent of all energy sources, with coal still having 65 percent share in the total energy mix. And high exploration costs and messy regulations restrict the expansion of the geothermal sector.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. BRICS think tanks and enterprises have the technological ability, financial means and policy knowledge to facilitate ASEAN's green transition.

Source: Wikipedia