The government considers preparing youngsters' capacity as a fundamental part of supporting the energy conservation and energy efficiency program, Ministry Official Dadan Kusdiana said at the APEC Youngsters Forum on Monday.
In a statement released on Tuesday, he said he expects that students will learn and develop energy initiatives that can be replicated and implemented.
Teachers can also play an important role in raising awareness through a more sustainable energy conservation and energy efficiency program, he added.
Teachers can provide education based on the curriculum and teach students using real-world examples that they are familiar with, he said.
According to APEC's Energy Demand and Supply Outlook data, improvement in energy efficiency has become a priority for policy action. The energy demand in Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow 21 percent from 2016 until 2050, he pointed out.
This growth will be especially driven by Southeast Asia, whose gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 300 percent and whose population growth is projected to reach 24 percent, Kusdiana informed.
Because of this, energy efficiency and energy conservation have become more crucial.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy consumption trend shifted from the commercial sector to households, therefore, awareness of the energy conservation and energy efficiency program will help households control energy consumption.
This would allow an increase in the consumption of other productive products, which, in the end, could improve national consumption.
Indonesia has also undertaken several energy efficiency and energy awareness improvement programs in the education sector.
These include the Energy Saving Ambassador program, under which selected ambassadors are appointed to share their experiences in planning and executing energy efficiency and energy conservation efforts in their environment.
He also underlined the responsibility of APEC members to focus on the issue of energy efficiency and energy conservation in the Asia-Pacific region.
The effort continues to be undertaken to take accurate actions for reducing the impact of energy consumption.
The forum can be utilized as much as possible and used as a platform by each APEC member to discuss energy efficiency and energy conservation, Kusdiana said.
APEC members can share their experiences and best practices concerning the efforts that have been and can be made to improve awareness about energy efficiency and energy conservation.
Kusdiana said he expects that everyone will work together to develop programs that can be done, especially in schools for all APEC members.
The APEC Youngsters Forum is being held in a hybrid (offline and online) format from May 22–25, 2023, and can be followed live on the ministry's YouTube channel.
The forum has been launched by the ministry in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Economic Development Cooperation (APEC) and Indonesian Institute for Energy Economics (IIEE). It features experts and stakeholders in energy and education as speakers.
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Translator: Kelik Dewanto, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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