Ramadan: Holly month for energy transition

MOSAIC-INDONESIA.COM, JAKARTA -- Muslims all over the world just welcome the holy month of Ramadan 1446 H when they are obliged to perform fasting. Ramadan becomes the right momentum to internalize the realization of Islamic values in everyday life, not only ritual of worship but also conversion.

One of the important issues that is often highlighted in the context of climate change today is energy. The values of Ramadan are essential to restrain passions in harmony with efficiency and the transition to renewable energy sources that is already very crucial.

For this reason, Suara Muhammadiyah, Greenfaith Indonesia, MOSAIC, 1000Cahaya, and the PP Muhammadiyah Environmental Assembly (MLH Muhammadiyah)  held a discussion entitled 'Cahaya Ramadan: Living Energy Worship with Sustainable Energy' in Jakarta, Wednesday (19/3/2025).

The event focused on raising public awareness of the importance of clean energy in an Islamic perspective, as well as encouraging more environmentally friendly practices of Ramadan worship. Deputy Chairman of the Environment Assembly of PP Muhammadiyah and Executive Director of Muhammadiyah Climate Center, Agus S. Djamil, expressed the importance of energy independence.

“I am happy that the energy transition is now an issue that is being discussed not only in the academic sphere, but also in the religious context. We need to realise energy independence urgently, given that today most of our energy is still dependent on imports. In fact, Indonesia was endowed by God with a wealth of energy, from water energy, geothermal, sea, sun, and wind,"he said.

Agus also stressed the importance of realizing energy independence using abundant renewable energy sources. Some examples mentioned are harnessing rivers for hydroelectric power generation (hydroelectric power), as well as the geothermal and energy potential of the ocean. He added that sustainable energy sources should also consider low Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) costs and optimal return on energy investment.

This talkshow also became a socialization event for the book Fikih Just Transition Energy, which has gone through an inclusive writing process from discussion to writing, involving the affected communities. The book is expected to serve as a foundation for working with Muslims to support Indonesia's energy transition ambitions.

Qaem Aulassyahied from Majelis Tarjih Tajdid PP Muhammadiyah,  who is also one of the authors of the book, stressed the existence of economic disparities in energy. Thus, the use and utilization of resources becomes unbalanced. According to him, one of the important issues is ownership and how we regulate it the benefit for the common welfare. “Greed and structural evil can undermine economic systems, including energy. So the form of energy conservation that we can do is to make energy savings and strive for alternative energy,”Qaem said.

The discussion also discussed various efforts in raising public awareness of wiser energy utilization at the household level through daily energy saving practices. One of them is from the government side.

Eko Sudarmawan, Energy Conservation Technical Guidance Officer from the Director General of EBTKE, Ministry of ESDM, explained, “We have launched various programs to raise public awareness about the importance of energy saving. In one area in Jakarta, we managed to drive electricity bill reduction in up to 75% of households within three months, through simple measures that can be applied daily.”

Eko further explained that on average in households, the use of air conditioning accounts for 50-60% of electricity consumption. In addition, with lighting systems that make more use of sunlight during the day, people can reduce electricity bills by up to 15%. The use of LED lamps is also recommended as a more energy-efficient alternative.

Hening Parlan, National Coordinator of Greenfaith Indonesia, added that Ramadan is a time full of blessings and introspection. “If we are not wise in managing energy, we are increasing waste. I invite everyone to 'energy fast'—at home and in the mosque. Let's turn off the lights when they're not in use, especially when we're worshiping, to reduce energy consumption.”

“We hope that the book on equitable energy transition and this event can inspire Muslims to make renewable energy a part of their daily lives, especially in welcoming the holy month of Ramadan,” said Aldy Permana of Muslims for Shared Action on Climate Impact (MOSAIC) Indonesia.