As Asia chokes on deadly smog, Indonesia cuts back on coal amid pollution spikes

A major coal-fired power plant to the west of Jakarta says it’s scaling back production to improve air quality in the Indonesian capital

It comes as a US study warns Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Mongolia are the worst hit by the ‘greatest external risk to human health’: smog

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Buildings seen shrouded in smog in Jakarta last month. Indonesia has pledged to stop building new coal-fired power plants from 2023 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:03pm, 6 Sep 2023Updated: 3:31pm, 6 Sep 2023

Anyone who has lived or travelled in Asia will know that wearing face masks in public was already the done thing well before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In cities such as Indonesia’s Jakarta, belching fumes from heavy traffic have long meant the wearing of face coverings by the scores of motorcyclists clogging the streets at rush hour.

The continuing impact of air pollution in Asia makes it a bigger global health challenge than alcohol, cigarettes, dirty drinking water or traffic accidents, according to the University of Chicago in the US.

On Wednesday, the operator of a major coal-fired power plant near Indonesia’s capital city said it had nearly halved output after major pollution spikes in recent weeks.

The Suralaya coal-fired power plant seen from atop a hill in Cilegon, Indonesia, earlier this year. The plant’s operator said it had nearly halved output after major pollution spikes in recent weeks. Photo: AP

The reduction came a week before Indonesia hosted leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and top officials from the United States, Japan, China and South Korea for summits tackling a spate of regional issues.

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