Guidelines Advancing Just Transitions in Indonesia

The document outlines a roadmap for Indonesia to transition to a low-carbon economy without leaving vulnerable workers and communities behind. It defines the dimensions of just transition—procedural, distributive, and restorative—and provides a set of principles and a planning checklist. The guide analyses Indonesia's current policy landscape, highlighting the dominance of the energy sector in transition discussions and the need for a more cross-sectoral approach. It also presents international case studies from Germany, Canada, Sweden, the USA, and Australia to illustrate different leadership models and outcomes. Key recommendations include establishing a national governing body, creating a centralised database of affected workers, and enhancing social dialogue to ensure inclusive decision-making.

• Indonesia has integrated just transition principles into several high-level policy documents, including the 2021 Updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the 2050 Long Term Strategy: Low Carbon & Climate Resilience (LTS-LCCR), where they are treated as a "cross-cutting approach" for all priority sectors.
• Current just transition efforts in Indonesia are heavily concentrated in the energy sector, often referred to exclusively as a "just energy transition," while other priority sectors under the NDC have not yet formally adopted the approach.
• The Indonesian government has established two major financing and coordination mechanisms for its energy transition: the Energy Transition Mechanism Country Platform (ETM-CP), launched in 2022, and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which aims to mobilise an initial USD 20 billion in public and private financing from G7 countries.
• A critical barrier to successful just transition planning in Indonesia is the lack of reliable, accessible, and centralised data regarding the number of workers affected by the transition, with existing statistics often relying on questionable voluntary reporting.
• International case studies demonstrate that delaying a just transition increases social and financial costs; for example, Germany's reactive approach to coal decline from the 1950s until the 2018 establishment of a coal commission led to "increased costs and little support" for early job losers.
• Effective just transitions require a combination of three types of justice: procedural (inclusive decision-making), distributive (fair distribution of risks and responsibilities), and restorative (remediation of environmental and social damage).
• The guide recommends that the Indonesian government establish a formal coordinating body, such as a just transition commission, to manage the transition and avoid the duplication of efforts among various donors and investors.
• To ensure inter-generational justice, Indonesia needs to adjust higher education and vocational curricula to include courses on clean and renewable energy, as current programs remain heavily focused on extractive industries like mining and petroleum.

APA

Lestari, T., & Inayah, B. (2023). Guidelines Advancing Just Transitions in Indonesia. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Guidelines-for-Just-Transitions-in-Indonesia.pdf

Chicago

Lestari, Tari, and Balgis Inayah. Guidelines Advancing Just Transitions in Indonesia. Climate Strategies, 2023. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Guidelines-for-Just-Transitions-in-Indonesia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lestari |first1=Tari |last2=Inayah |first2=Balgis |title=Guidelines Advancing Just Transitions in Indonesia |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=2023 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Guidelines-for-Just-Transitions-in-Indonesia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lestari2023guidelines, author = {Lestari, Tari and Inayah, Balgis}, title = {{Guidelines Advancing Just Transitions in Indonesia}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2023}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Guidelines-for-Just-Transitions-in-Indonesia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }