AsiaElec: Indonesia’s coal addiction proving very hard to kick

As a coal exporting nation, Indonesia’s days are supposedly numbered. Yet having received billions of dollars to move beyond fossil fuel use, there is little evidence the nation is actually doing so, or even wants to do so.

As one of the world’s leading thermal coal exporters, and the biggest by tonnage in Southeast Asia, Indonesia last year mined almost 690mn tonnes of coal. Of this, at least 494mn tonnes was sent around the world.

The main destinations for Indonesian coal were China, India, South Korea and Japan, according to government figures, with the four leading Asian economies swallowing up 70% of Indonesia’s total exports.

Only China and India export more.

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