Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 – Yayasan Visi Indonesia Raya Emisi Nol Bersih (ViriyaENB), a strategic grantmaker in partnership with global philanthropic institutions and local civil society organizations to support accelerated action towards net zero emissions, launches partnerships and initiatives with ITDP Indonesia and six organizations in energy-related sectors in Indonesia.

This partnership launching was led by Suzanty Sitorus, Executive Director, ViriyaENB, and supported by Ilham A. Habibie, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ViriyaENB, and Alue Dohong, Ph.D, Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. Gonggomtua Sitanggang as Interim Director of ITDP Indonesia, joined the partnership launching ceremony along with other six ViriyaENB partners at Shangri La Hotel, Jakarta. The launching ceremony followed a panel discussion session where each ViriyaENB partner outlined program initiatives. Gonggom, with the Ministry of Transportation represented by Budi Prayitno, Associate Expert Planner Directorate of Road Transport, Directorate General of Land, explained the challenges of public transportation in Indonesia and how the nation-wide BTS Teman Bus program, the highlighted program of the Director General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation, helps to improve public transport system in Indonesian cities.

Transportation is the fastest-growing sector of carbon emissions worldwide. Pollution from this sector also contributes significantly to poor air quality and increases the number of respiratory diseases. Public transportation is the answer to reducing these carbon emissions while at the same time reducing congestion and connecting people to their livelihoods and other communities. Electrifying buses with clean energy provides further opportunities to improve mobility for all members of society while eliminating almost entirely carbon emissions and other pollution from public transportation.

As part of its commitment to reduce overall emissions from the transportation sector, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has set a target to electrify 90% of the national public transport fleet by 2030. To realize this commitment, the Ministry of Transportation, in partnership with the Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia, supported by ViriyaENB, will develop a national roadmap for implementing public transport electrification. The roadmap will look at overcoming obstacles such as lack of technical capacity, regulatory clarity, and financing constraints. The partnership will also give on fleet renewal opportunities to improve service quality and inclusiveness to accommodate marginalized groups, low-income communities, women, children, and older persons.