Green Fiscal Stimulus in Indonesia and Vietnam: A Reality Check of Two Emerging Economies

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 The main contributions of this manuscript

(1)   This manuscript has extensively reviewed the latest publications related to renewable energy. In particular, sections 1 and 2 include comprehensive discussions on background information and the global post-COVID-19 trend.

(2)   The selection of Viet Nam and Indonesia as the case study is appropriate because both are prominent emerging economies. Supplying the rising energy demand with low-carbon options is a challenging policy decision for maintaining future growth.

The key weaknesses of this manuscript

(1)     The structure of this manuscript does not conform to the standard outline of a research paper. Specifically, research questions, data and research methodologies are missing. In my opinion, these serious deficiencies disqualify this manuscript from being published as a research article.

(2)     All suggestions stated in section 5 (Way Forward) have not been systematically formulated. Conventionally, in the field of energy economics, the policy recommendations are derived from quantitative analyses, clearly revealing the cost and benefit of each policy option. Because the energy policy is mainly a combination of engineering and economic considerations, using the quantitative analytical framework is conventionally accepted. The lack of quantitative analysis supporting the policy recommendations is also considered one of this manuscript's main weaknesses.    

Main suggestion

This manuscript should be re-submitted for publication as the review, not the article. Academically speaking, its structure and main context are not the research paper.  Especially, this manuscript does not include systematic analysis, which is a core content of the research article. Therefore, I highly recommend the authors reconsider and re-submit this work as a review. 

Listed below are the latest review publications in Sustainability.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16480

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16467

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/24/16441

The authors should restructure this manuscript by following the discussions outlined in those publications. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

In this paper, the authors introduce the green energy transition of Vietnam and Indonesia. They suggest that the green transition has a link with the Covid-19 pandemic, although the connection is not well explained. More specifically, in the first two pages of the paper, there is no documentation that the pandemic caused a green transition. These arguments should be significantly expanded to explain the link or maybe deleted.

The rest of the arguments are well explained; therefore, I suggest that the core text (sections 3-6) should not be altered.

Although the paper presents only plain text, some graphs would add value to the arguments explained. For example, in sections 3, 4 and 5, the data could easily be presented in a graph.

The paper suffers from linguistic errors; therefore, I suggest professional proofreading.

Overall, the paper has a good structure and content and ends with valuable conclusions. Το sum up, I believe the paper is publishable if the above points are met. 

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Please see the comments and suggestions in the attached file. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. Please find our responses attached

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 3

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors have substantially revised the manuscript.  All contexts are logically connected.  Overall, this manuscript is ready for the final step of publication as the review article. 

I have found some typos.  But I am convinced that this minor issue will be resolved during the final editorial procedure.