The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What it means to fossil fuel subsidy reform

The policy brief examines the political landscape of President Joko Widodo's second-term cabinet, noting that the inclusion of opposition figures may grant him control over 74 per cent of the People's Representative Council. While the new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources is tasked with meeting renewable energy targets and reducing oil and gas imports, the document notes that Widodo's first term saw renewable energy overshadowed by coal power expansion and palm oil biodiesel projects. The brief highlights the 2019 Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI) as a framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 while maintaining 6 per cent GDP growth.

• President Joko Widodo's second-term cabinet includes members from the rival coalition, such as Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fishery Edhy Prabowo, which could allow Widodo to control 427 of 575 seats (74 per cent) in the People's Representative Council.
• The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, has been assigned key tasks including meeting renewable energy targets, reducing oil and gas imports, achieving energy diversification, and implementing the downstreaming (hilirisasi) agenda in the mining sector.
• During Widodo's first term, the expansion of coal power plants and the palm oil biodiesel project took precedence over the development of renewable energy and the improvement of fuel pricing mechanisms, resulting in no improved share of clean and sustainable energy.
• The Low Carbon Development Initiative (LCDI), launched in August 2019 by Bappenas, aims to integrate economic priorities with sustainability, projecting a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 6 per cent annual GDP growth.

APA

Lontoh, L. (2019). The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What it means to fossil fuel subsidy reform. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/indonesia-election-result-2019.pdf

Chicago

Lontoh, Lucky. The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What it means to fossil fuel subsidy reform. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/indonesia-election-result-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lontoh |first1=Lucky |title=The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What it means to fossil fuel subsidy reform |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/indonesia-election-result-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lontoh2019indonesia, author = {Lontoh, Lucky}, title = {{The Indonesia Election Result and Joko Widodo’s New Cabinet: What it means to fossil fuel subsidy reform}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/indonesia-election-result-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }