If World War Breaks Out, Indonesia Faces an Energy Crisis

Dateline: Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira of the Center for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) warns that Indonesia could face an energy crisis if a global conflict or even a world war occurs, due to the nation’s energy resilience being vulnerable from high reliance on imported oil. When global supply disruptions occur, the impact could be felt directly in the domestic fuel supply. ‘Indonesia’s energy reserves are vulnerable. That is why an oil crisis could trigger shortages of fuel stocks,’ Bhima told CNBC Indonesia on Thursday, 5 March 2026. However, Bhima believes that the solution of increasing reserves to three months is not the answer to strengthening energy resilience, given Indonesia’s heavy dependence on oil imports. ‘The root problem is that we import oil and are vulnerable to price fluctuations. The option is rather to accelerate electrification in the transport system and energy transition,’ he said. He urged the government to expand the use of electricity-based public transport, such as electric buses in various regions. Meanwhile, the use of private cars powered by oil should be gradually reduced. ‘What matters is affordable and comfortable public transport; people will shift,’ he added. On the other hand, accelerating the development of renewable energy in the power generation sector is also an important step, given Indonesia’s significant potential from clean energy sources. ‘Concern is that if we remain focused on importing oil and fuel, energy resilience will remain brittle. Japan’s households use solar panels with a total capacity of around 100 GW. So Japan does have oil reserves for 254 days, but renewables are also large,’ Bhima said.