Presidential Envoy Backs Carbon Capture to Protect Fossil Fuels and Drive 8% GDP Surge Toward 2060 Net Zero

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia will not commit "economic suicide" by prematurely phasing out fossil fuels, opting instead to scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCS/CCUS) to bridge an ambitious 8% GDP growth agenda with its 2060 Net Zero Emission mandate.

Speaking at The 4th International & Indonesia Carbon Capture and Storage (IICCS) Forum 2026 in Jakarta on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, Special Presidential Envoy for Energy and Climate Hashim Djojohadikusumo emphasized that national energy sovereignty must anchor the climate transition amid mounting global geopolitical risks.

By officially endorsing CCS/CCUS as a commercial shield for baseload coal and natural gas infrastructure, Southeast Asia's largest economy is safeguarding hundreds of billions of dollars in thermal power and upstream assets.

This strategic deployment positions the archipelago as a premier carbon storage hub in the Asia-Pacific, creating cross-border carbon credit monetization pipelines and opening high-yield investment channels for multinational energy operators, including BP and ExxonMobil.

Balancing 8% Expansion with Climate Mandates

The government reaffirmed that while President Prabowo Subianto is open to accelerating decarbonization timelines, the transition will not happen at the expense of national industrial momentum or grid reliability.

"The Indonesian government is committed to reaching net zero by 2060. Pak Prabowo feels we can accelerate it, but Indonesia does not want to commit economic suicide; we want to achieve economic growth of at least 8% in the coming years," Djojohadikusumo stated during his keynote address on Wednesday.

Heightened vulnerabilities across global shipping choke points like the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb underscore the strategic necessity of utilizing domestic hydrocarbon reserves rather than relying on volatile foreign energy supplies.

Cutting Industrial Emissions by 95%

Djojohadikusumo pointed to breakthrough industrial trials demonstrating that carbon capture technology can abate between 90% and 95% of greenhouse gases emitted from fossil-fueled processing facilities.

Pilot projects using Japanese capture technology at state-owned fertilizer producer PT Petrokimia Gresik proved that sequestered gas can yield high-demand commodities like baking soda and soda ash, an industrial chemical currently imported at high costs.

"We can install similar equipment not only in fertilizer plants, but also across coal-fired power stations operated by state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and private Independent Power Producers (IPPs)," Djojohadikusumo said on Wednesday. "Our coal industry still has a long future ahead; we want to advance toward net zero emissions while maintaining our vital domestic energy industries."

The administration is also advancing biological carbon utilization pathways, capturing concentrated carbon dioxide streams from high-CO2 gas fields to serve as low-cost feedstock for commercial microalgae cultivation, which yields advanced biofuels and high-protein agricultural feeds.

Moving CCS into Commercial Execution

The country's regulatory framework is now transitioning from policy formulation to large-scale commercial project execution, supported by international bilateral partnerships.

The Indonesia-Japan Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Joint Committee formally greenlit the Ofaweri decarbonization initiative linked to the Tangguh CCUS project in West Papua, marking the first CCUS facility registered under the JCM framework.

Indonesia Carbon Capture and Storage Center (ICCSC) Executive Director Belladonna Troxylon Maulianda noted that harmonizing policy, cross-border capital, and physical transport infrastructure will determine how rapidly regional commercial scale is realized.

ICCSC cemented new strategic pacts on Wednesday with the Indonesia Carbon Trade Association (IDCTA) and South Korea's ETRS Center, establishing cross-border technical exchanges and business matching to accelerate commercial carbon capture infrastructure across Southeast Asia.