Arif Ilham Fajriadi, Jakarta – Executive Director of Traction Energy Asia Tommy Pratama said that energy transition is at risk of climate-damaging land grabbing. He reminded the government to acknowledge this issue.

According to Tommy, energy transition is closely related to opening new lands to accommodate location needs. "With increasing utilization of energy transition, the requirement for lands increase alongside it," he said on Wednesday, January 10.

Further analysis of land management for renewable energy transition is necessary, Tommy said, to avoid significant consequences.

Inconsiderate and failure to examine the environmental impact of energy transition might pave the way for climate change, Tommy added. The effects of climate change could cause global warming and climate crisis. "So we have to inspect how far we use this energy," he said.

Tommy stressed that deforestation is not the only way to renewable energy transition. "We still have many other solutions [for renewable energy] aside from bioenergy. Bioenergy was initiated by European and American countries, don't blindly follow their steps. We still have many energy resources," he said.

Clean energy potential in Indonesia reached 3,687 gigawatts, according to Tommy. However, Indonesia only utilizes as many as 0.3 percent of the total potential or 12.6 gigawatts.

Several untapped potentials for clean energy in Indonesia are sea waves, geothermal, water, wind, and bioenergy. "Indonesia with its abundant forests could become the pioneer of energy transition to reduce GHG emission," he concluded.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1819873/traction-energy-asia-warns-of-land-grab-risk-of-energy-transitio