Just Energy Transition Partnerships: Insights from Indonesia and Vietnam
CLIMATE CHANGE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA PROGRAMME & VIETNAM STUDIES PROGRAMME
About the Webinar
The lack of access to climate finance remains a key challenge in energy transition in Southeast Asia. Compounding the finance gap is an absence of regional policies to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the energy transition.
The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) initiative, launched on the sidelines of COP26 in 2021 and backed by the G20, has been presented as a potential funding mechanism to bring together public and private sector resources to transition countries away from coal dependence and towards greater utilisation of renewable energy in order to achieve their climate goals. The aim of the JETP is also to facilitate a “just and equitable” energy transition, including fostering fair labour transitions, creating quality jobs and protecting livelihoods. A US$20 billion JETP package was announced for Indonesia at the G20 Summit in November 2022, followed by a US$15 billion package for Vietnam the following month. Despite its potential, significant international and domestic challenges could obstruct the effective implementation of the JETP in these two Southeast Asian countries.
This webinar will review the progress of JETP policy roll-outs and discuss the implications and challenges for Vietnam and Indonesia. The discussion will also offer expert assessments of Indonesia’s Comprehensive Investment and Policy Plan (CIPP) and Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership Resource Mobilisation Plan (RMP) for the JETP and how to consider a ‘just transition’ approach in the policymaking process.
About the Speakers
Ms Melinda Martinus’s research interests revolve around sustainable development, smart city initiatives, digitalisation, institutional framework and policy for advancing climate ambition in ASEAN countries. Melinda is Production Editor of the ASEAN Studies Centre’s biannual flagship magazine, ASEANFocus. She is Co-editor of the institute’s two annual survey reports, the State of Southeast Asia and the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook. Before joining ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, she was a programme manager at Kota Kita Foundation, Indonesia and a researcher at the Center for Metropolitan Studies (Centropolis) at Tarumanagara University Jakarta. She studied urban planning at Tarumanagara University, Jakarta and Columbia University, New York.
Mr Paul Butarbutar currently serves as the Deputy Head of the JETP Indonesia Secretariat. Bringing more than 24 years of experience in environmental and energy advisory work, Paul’s portfolio includes managing air pollution and waste, climate financing, carbon pricing, carbon market, renewable energy, and energy efficiency investments. He has advised various Ministries in Indonesia, including the Ministry of National Development, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, as well as multilateral institutions such as the UNDP, ADB, World Bank, AusAID, among others. Paul actively contributed to Article 6 negotiations during COP26. In 2017, he founded PT JJB Sustainergy Indonesia, focusing on carbon pricing, renewable energy policy, investment, and advocacy. Additionally, he co-founded the Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID) and played a crucial role in establishing the Indonesia Center for Renewable Energy Studies.
Ms Nguyen Phuong Mai is the Vietnam Country Director for The Asia Group based in Hanoi. She spent 10 years (2002-2011) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MOIT) International Cooperation Department, where she managed relations with international partners to develop Vietnam’s industry and power sectors. In 2011, Mai joined the MOIT’s General Directorate of Energy, achieving the rank of Deputy Director. From 2017 to late 2022, she served as Deputy Chief of Office at MOIT’s Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority, overseeing critical energy cooperation issues and formulating policies for the development of Vietnam’s power and renewable energy sectors. Mai also served as the Alternate Senior Official Energy (SOE) Leader of Vietnam in ASEAN energy cooperation. She brings deep expertise and a diverse network across the public and private spheres of Vietnam’s energy sector.
Dr Julia Behrens is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department for Social Anthropology at Bielefeld University, Germany. She holds a PhD in Southeast Asian Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin, and has spent part of her studies at the Vietnam National University and the University of Glasgow. Her research interests are in political ecology, social-ecological transformation and Southeast Asia. Aside from her studies, she has headed the Climate and Energy Project in Asia of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, based in Hanoi.
Registration
This webinar will be delivered online entirely. You can join the webinar at the specified date and time using devices (computer, phone, or tablet) with internet connection.
Please register here to receive your unique link for joining the webinar.
If you have questions for the speakers, please key in your questions via the Q&A, stating your name and affiliation. The moderator will field them to the speaker during the Q&A session.