The world is currently undergoing a major transition from the era of conventional industrial development to the era of decarbonization. Energy expert Triharyo Soesilo emphasized that without concrete efforts to reduce emissions, the threats posed by extreme weather, drought, and the global food crisis are expected to reach their peak within the next 21 years.
“The world is shifting from industrial development to decarbonization. In the future, the focus will no longer be merely on building petrochemical plants or oil refineries, but on reducing carbon emissions released into the atmosphere,” Triharyo said after receiving the Ganesa Widya Jasa Adiutama Award from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) at ITB’s West Hall on Ganesha Street, Bandung, on Friday, July 3, 2026.
Triharyo, who served as a special staff member to Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources from 2019 to 2024, acknowledged that Indonesia still faces significant challenges in raising public awareness about the climate crisis. According to him, a substantial knowledge gap exists among mid-level decision-makers.
He noted that understanding of the energy transition varies across different segments of society. At the national government level, the President and cabinet ministers have recognized the urgency of the issue by issuing various presidential regulations and supporting policies.
Meanwhile, younger generations have shown themselves to be highly proactive and innovative. The greatest challenge, Triharyo said, lies with the middle generation, where many people either do not fully understand or have yet to grasp the urgency of decarbonization.
To address emissions, Triharyo outlined several practical solutions that could be implemented across multiple sectors. In agriculture, for example, periodically drying rice fields could help reduce methane gas emissions.
In the property sector, improving the efficiency of building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems could reduce energy consumption by 40–50 percent.
He also encouraged the large-scale deployment of solar panels as a solution following the halt in the construction of new coal-fired power plants since 2019. Electricity supply shortages, he said, could be addressed by installing floating solar panel systems on reservoirs and lakes.
“If solar power plants are integrated into the existing electricity grid, they can generate carbon credits. The gap between the selling price of solar-generated electricity—which is often considered less economically viable under the Presidential Regulation on New and Renewable Energy—and market expectations can be covered or cross-subsidized through revenue generated from selling carbon credits on the international market,” Triharyo explained.***
