The world’s fourth most populous country is filled with 112 million motorcycles and 15 million cars but has now vowed to go all-electric in under 30 years
Indonesia has doubled down on its commitment to going carbon neutral by pledging to sell only electric cars and bikes by 2050, just a few months after promising to shut its coal-fuelled power plants in 35 years time.
The country’s energy minister made the vehicles announcement on Monday as part of the South-east Asian country’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.
All motorcycles sold from 2040 will be electric-powered, while all new cars sold from 2050 will be electric vehicles (EVs), Arifin Tasrif said.
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In the past decade, the world’s fourth-most populous country sold on average 6.5 million motorcycles per year and about 1 million cars.
“We don’t have any policy to stop (usage) of internal combustion engine, just the utilisation of electric vehicles, with incentives,” said Dadan Kusdiana, director general of renewables at the ministry.
Indonesia has grappled with choking air pollution in urban areas, with the traffic-clogged capital Jakarta consistently ranking among the region’s most polluted cities.
GLOBAL HUB
A move towards EVs also supports Indonesia’s ambitious plans of becoming a global hub for production, as the country ramps up processing of its rich supplies of nickel laterite ore used in lithium batteries.
Indonesia’s homegrown ride-hailing giant, Gojek, in April said that the company would make every car and motorcycle on its platform an EV by 2030.
Jakarta also announced a target this year to make the country carbon-neutral, including a plan to retire all coal powered plants by 2056.
- Reporting by Reuters
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