Indonesia casts doubt on role of Paris climate accord after Donald Trump’s exit

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Indonesia, one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, has cast doubt on the usefulness of the Paris agreement after President Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw from the global climate accord.

Jakarta’s climate and energy envoy said targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions for countries such as Indonesia were unfair when the US, as the world’s largest historical polluter, were reversing on climate commitments. 

“If the US, which is currently the second-biggest polluter after China, refuses to comply with the international agreement, why should countries like Indonesia comply?” said Hashim Djojohadikusumo at a conference in Jakarta on Friday.

His comments come just days after the Financial Times reported that officials in Argentina were discussing a proposal to leave the Paris agreement. This would make it only the second country to leave the 2015 accord signed by almost 200 nations.

Within hours of taking office, President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement for a second time, having previously left during his first term. No other countries then followed but the latest move has raised concerns it will undermine global climate action.

“This is a matter of justice. Indonesia 3 tons, America 13 tons . . . Where is the justice in that?” said Hashim, referring to carbon dioxide emissions per capita figures. 

Developing countries have long called for rich nations to take the lead in addressing climate change by shifting their energy systems from the burning of fossil fuels which are the main cause of climate change.

All countries, including Indonesia, are due to submit new national targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by this February under the Paris agreement. But many, including the EU bloc, are expected to miss the deadline.

Indonesia ranks as the world’s sixth-largest polluter because of its heavy reliance on coal. It generates 66 per cent of its electricity from coal and continues to build new coal-fired plants to fuel its growth, including energy-hungry nickel production. Indonesia is the top supplier of nickel, critical for the production of stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles. 

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to phase out coal by 2040, but analysts have said that is an aggressive target for a country that has so far failed to meet any of its climate goals.

Indonesia would need a dramatic policy overhaul and massive investments in renewable energy to meet its pledges, but the country has struggled to secure adequate funds. It is estimated it will need at least $1.2tn between now and 2050 for clean energy, storage and transmission networks, and an estimated $28bn for the early retirement of coal plants. 

But Hashim said that he believed an agreed $20bn financial programme to help wean Indonesia off coal would “certainly be scrapped” by the US under Trump. The so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership “is a failed programme”, he said.

Indonesia has repeatedly complained about the JETP since it was launched in 2022, led by the US and Japan and backed by promises of private capital via the banking sector umbrella group known as Gfanz. Touted as the largest such financing of its kind, little of the funds have been disbursed, while the banking alliance has lost many of its leading members.

Both sides have agreed on an investment and policy plan under the financing package, but there are several points of contention. Indonesia has said the donor countries have declined to fund early retirement of coal plants. Jakarta has also declined to add off-grid coal plants used by mineral processing for inclusion in its emission reduction plan.

Following Trump’s decision to leave the Paris agreement, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the shift to clean energy was the “economic growth deal of the decade”.

“The door remains open to the Paris agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries,” he added.