Foreign Affairs

Biden To Hand Out Billions To Stop Developing Country From Using Coal

A U.S. coal mine. (By Unknown - http://www.wy.blm.gov/minerals/coal/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1652767)

President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday announced a climate deal that will send Indonesia $20 billion over the next three-to-five years to push the country to shut down its coal plants.

The initiative is intended to help Indonesia, the world’s chief coal exporter, phase out coal production and switch to green energy in order to reach global targets for reducing carbon emissions, according to a White House fact sheet. Half of the money will be spent by countries that are part of the International Partners Group, including the U.S., Japan and Canada, while the other half will be provided by private financial institutions led by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zeroto accelerate Indonesia’s green transition over the three-to-five-year period.

The funders will use a mix of grants, loans, guarantees and private investments to push Indonesia away from coal production. The plan will shut down coal-fired power plants at an accelerated rate and investments in planned coal plants will be redirected toward renewable energy sources.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous nation, is heavily reliant on coal to fuel its energy-intensive steel industry, according to a 2022 International Energy Agency report. Coal accounted for 37% of Indonesia’s energy consumption in 2020 while renewables accounted for 7% of the country’s energy consumption, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Indonesia will work to ensure that its power sector emissions will peak by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050, bringing its net zero targets forward by ten years, according to the fact sheet. The nation will also aim to make sure that renewable energy accounts for at least 34% of all power generation by 2030.

Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry announced on Nov. 9 that the Biden administration was partnering with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation to reward developing countries with “marketable carbon credits” if they reduce CO2 emissions from their power sector or make investments in green energy.

The White House and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.