The net zero emission is targeted by all countries worldwide, including Indonesia, in dealing with the impact of climate change. As one of the technology-based educational institutions responsible for providing support, SBM ITB invited Hasto Kristiyono, the President Commissioner of Pertamina Power Inc., to share his knowledge and discuss with the graduate students in the guest lecture session on Monday (11/07/2022) through zoom meeting.
The discussion topic focused on energy transition and the strategy to actualize Indonesia’s net zero carbon emission in 2060. The target is a form of solidarity by Indonesia to the Paris Agreement created at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) on December 12, 2015. The agreement aims for the world to be free from carbon emissions by 2050.
According to Hasto, energy transition is closely related to the Human Development Index (HDI), which can be measured by three parameters: Life expectancy, education level, and the economic condition of every person. “The more energy consumed in an area, the more advanced the human development,” he explained the relation between energy and development. In other words, the increase in human development can be seen in the amount of energy used in a place.
The lecture session went well and, with a discussion opportunity opened every 20 minutes, the students were engaged. A fascinating question came from Made, one of the students in the meeting, who asked about why most of the developing countries with abundant natural resources do not have a prominent human resource. Yet, the developed countries do not have many natural resources, but they succeeded in generating high-quality people.
“It is not about how abundant the resources are; it is about how humans can utilize them for life,” Hasto answered briefly.
Besides, Hasto also explained about the energy transition from time to time. In addition, He then recommended some books created by Vaclav Smil (a well-known scientist in energy) that Bill Gates often read.
