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Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion international deal to get off coal

Piles of coal are seen transported on barges in Samarinda, East Kalimantan in January 11, 2022. Aksara M. Rahman/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Aksara M. Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

Short Wave

Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion international deal to get off coal

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of coal for electricity. And it's also an emerging economy trying to address climate change. The country recently signed a highly publicized, $20 billion international deal to transition away from coal and toward renewable energy. The hope is the deal could be a model for other countries. But Indonesian energy experts and solar executives worry much of this deal may be "omong kosong" — empty talk. Today, NPR climate solutions reporter Julia Simon breaks down the realities and limitations of Indonesia's renewable aspirations.

Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion international deal to get off coal

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More money, more carbon?
David Hecker/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

More money, more carbon?

For this week's series finale, we explain Indonesia's climate deal, why nobody came #1 in the CCPI's climate rankings and whether it's possible to grow an economy without increasing carbon emissions.

More money, more carbon?

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Draft agreement at the COP26 climate summit looks to rapidly speed up emissions cuts

A stacker-reclaimer next to a stockpile of coal at the Newcastle Coal Terminal in Newcastle, New South Wales. Australia is a major coal producer. A new draft agreement at the climate summit in Scotland calls for ending coal power. Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The COP26 summit

Draft agreement at the COP26 climate summit looks to rapidly speed up emissions cuts

The draft, circulated at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, calls for an end to coal power and more rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Hopi Look To Tourism, Ranching For Income After Coal Power Plant Closure

The Navajo Generating Station shut down in November 2019. The West's largest coal-fired power plant provided $12 million in yearly royalties to the Hopi Tribe. Laurel Morales/KJZZ hide caption

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Laurel Morales/KJZZ

National

Hopi Look To Tourism, Ranching For Income After Coal Power Plant Closure

KJZZ

The coal power plant that provided about 80% of the Hopi Nation's budget closed last month. Tribal leaders are now trying to figure out how to replace the revenue, which was their economic lifeline.

Hopi Look To Tourism, Ranching For Income After Coal Power Plant Closure

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Why Is China Placing A Global Bet On Coal?

A Chinese-backed power plant under construction in 2018 in the desert in the Tharparkar district of Pakistan's southern Sindh province. Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images

World

Why Is China Placing A Global Bet On Coal?

China has taken dramatic steps to fight climate change, including shutting major coal power plants. But now it plans to build hundreds of coal plants abroad.

Why Is China Placing A Global Bet On Coal?

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