Pramono Admits Difficulty in Tackling Jakarta Pollution: Suburbs Still Use Coal

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung has said that the various measures undertaken by his administration will not fully resolve the problem of poor air quality as long as coal-based industries and coal-fired power plants (PLTU) in the buffer zones remain operational.

“The main issue is how coordination works within the Jakarta agglomeration, especially for areas that still permit their industries to use coal as fuel,” Pramono said in South Jakarta on Thursday (20/8).

According to him, if coal-based industries and power plants were not permitted, the impact on reducing pollution in Jakarta would be far greater. He made reference to the Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Banten.

Pramono said the provincial government has been making efforts to address the air quality problem.

“So, whatever the government does within Jakarta by introducing electric vehicles, improving transportation, and shifting people from private to public transport, in my view it will not fully resolve the problem if the suburban areas or regions surrounding Jakarta are still allowed to have industries using coal-fired power generation, because that is one of the main sources,” he said.

Pramono expressed hope that the central government would also step in to coordinate so that the air quality problem can be addressed.

“Therefore, as Governor of Jakarta, I hope there will be coordination with the central government so that those contributing to the still-high emissions can be regulated together,” he said.