Indonesian and international CSOs call on the fashion industry to rule out biomass in order to ensure a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels and false solutions

An open letter from Indonesian and international civil society organisations (CSOs) urges the global fashion industry to reject biomass as a 'low carbon' alternative to fossil fuels. The CSOs argue that biomass is a 'false solution' that drives deforestation, threatens biodiversity in the Leuser Ecosystem, and violates the rights of Indigenous peoples, while producing more CO2 per kilowatt hour than coal.

• Civil society organisations urge the fashion industry to phase out fossil fuels and avoid biomass in favour of genuinely clean energy sources like wind and solar power, asserting that biomass is a "false solution" that undermines corporate climate commitments.
• Several global fashion brands, including H&M, Puma, Adidas, and Inditex, are promoting or supporting the transition to biomass in Southeast Asia, with H&M specifically sourcing from 60 factories in Indonesia.
• The use of biomass for energy threatens the Leuser Ecosystem, the only natural habitat for endangered Sumatran orangutans, and risks the loss of over 2 million hectares of natural forest—an area 35 times the size of Jakarta province—due to the Indonesian government's plan to fire 10 million tonnes of biomass in 52 coal power plants.
• Biomass is described as incompatible with 2050 net zero goals because woody biomass generates more CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity produced than coal, and the process of clearing forests for fuel releases stored carbon into the atmosphere.

APA

TrendAsia (2023). Indonesian and international CSOs call on the fashion industry to rule out biomass in order to ensure a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels and false solutions. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/en/indonesian-and-international-csos-call-on-the-fashion-industry-to-rule-out-biomass-in-order-to-ensure-a-clean-energy-transition-away-from-fossil-fuels-and-false-solutions/

Chicago

TrendAsia. Indonesian and international CSOs call on the fashion industry to rule out biomass in order to ensure a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels and false solutions. Trend Asia, 2023. https://trendasia.org/en/indonesian-and-international-csos-call-on-the-fashion-industry-to-rule-out-biomass-in-order-to-ensure-a-clean-energy-transition-away-from-fossil-fuels-and-false-solutions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=TrendAsia |title=Indonesian and international CSOs call on the fashion industry to rule out biomass in order to ensure a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels and false solutions |publisher=Trend Asia |date=26 September 2023 |url=https://trendasia.org/en/indonesian-and-international-csos-call-on-the-fashion-industry-to-rule-out-biomass-in-order-to-ensure-a-clean-energy-transition-away-from-fossil-fuels-and-false-solutions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{trendasia2023indonesian, author = {TrendAsia}, title = {{Indonesian and international CSOs call on the fashion industry to rule out biomass in order to ensure a clean energy transition away from fossil fuels and false solutions}}, publisher = {Trend Asia}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://trendasia.org/en/indonesian-and-international-csos-call-on-the-fashion-industry-to-rule-out-biomass-in-order-to-ensure-a-clean-energy-transition-away-from-fossil-fuels-and-false-solutions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }