BSD City. Property developer Sinar Mas Land and the Energy, Sustainability & Climate or ESC Taskforce of the Business-Group on Friday teamed up to hold a national forum on transitioning towards cleaner energy for mobility towards net-zero emission.

Sinar Mas Land's township project BSD City hosted the forum. The event took place in BSD City's shopping avenue Qbig.

The hybrid conference had 150 participants who came from the government, businesses, energy associations, civil society, among others. Arsjad Rasjid, the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Indonesia pledged to combat climate change by reaching net-zero emission by 2060 or sooner.

“Indonesia has an abundance of renewable energy sources, be it solar power, hydropower, geothermal, wind, which we can make use of to achieve the net-zero emission target,” Arsjad said in a press statement.

Arsjad called for collaboration between the public and private sectors. “Incentives like taxes and tariffs are also important to boost renewable energy use in Indonesia; by making renewable energy more competitive than its fossil fuels and create an attractive market for investors,” he added.

According to B20 Chair Shinta Kamdani, energy transition is not a simple and short process. She went on to say that this shift should also be carried out in a fair and orderly manner.

“The G20 should act as a driver by giving full support to the transition process by accelerating the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, ensuring a just and affordable transition for developing countries, while also bolstering energy security,” Shinta said.

 “It is not just big companies that need support to boost access, affordability, and technology [for] renewable energy. Households and micro, small, and medium enterprises [or MSMEs] [do need them as well,” she added.

Agung Wicaksono, the deputy chair for the B20 ESC Taskforce, said electrification, renewable energy power generation, and energy efficiency, are the main pillars of energy transition.

"Investment in technology and sectors related to energy transition is also increasing,” Agung said.

Electric vehicles as low-carbon mobility will play a crucial role to energy transition, according to Agung. This also aligns with the 2019 President Regulation on Battery-Powered Electric Vehicles. As well as one of the priorities in ESC Task Force's policy recommendations, namely accelerating sustainable energy transition by lowering carbon intensity through various initiatives.

 “This is why this national forum is important to share insights on priority steps in order to accelerate the shift towards clean and renewable energy use, while also encouraging global partnerships,” he said.

Sinar Mas Land group chief executive officer Michael Widjaja said both SInar Mas Land and BSD City were proud to have hosted the event.

"The issues discussed in the B20 forum are in line with Sinar Mas Land's vision of building a greener, cleaner and sustainable living. Sinar Mas Land strives to present a sustainable living environment and become the pioneer of sustainable cityscapes from upstream to downstream, starting from city parks, streetscapes. to office buildings, residential and commercial products to provide a comfortable environment for the community,” Michael said.

Michael went on to say that Sinar Mas Land is transforming one of its township projects, namely BSD City, into a smart digital city ecosystem by utilizing technology as a bridge to a better environment.

The forum also coincided with the inauguration of Indonesia's first autonomous electric vehicle trial.  This innovation marked a concrete step for Sinar Mas Land's goal of achieving a smart city in BSD City.