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The Kasepuhan Ciptagelar indigenous community in West Java has overcome geographic isolation and market neglect by building its own community-led internet infrastructure. Starting with a partnership in 2018 between Common Room and Awinet, the network has expanded to cover 44 hamlets across 13 villages by 2025, serving up to 2,000 daily users. The 'Ciptagelar Model' utilizes a hybrid backhaul of radio links and fiber optics, funded by a prepaid voucher system that reinvests revenue into the community. This digital sovereignty has enabled the community to fund reforestation—planting 45,000 trees over five years—and document traditional rituals. While successful, the initiative faces challenges including regulatory 'grey zones' in Indonesian law and physical infrastructure damage from extreme weather, such as the collapse of a bamboo tower in late 2024.

Indonesia is experiencing an explosive surge in captive coal power, with total operational and prospective capacity reaching nearly 31 GW. This growth is heavily concentrated in nickel hubs like Central Sulawesi and North Maluku, dwarfing the expansion of the national power grid. The report highlights significant data discrepancies in official JETP mapping and warns that regulatory loopholes in PERPRES 112/2022 allow 'national strategic projects' to bypass coal moratoriums. This trajectory is projected to cause 27,000 additional air pollution-related deaths and USD 20 billion in economic burden, while creating 'sacrifice zones' that risk Indonesia's position in global green supply chains.

Trend Asia criticizes the new PP KEN for extending the use of fossil fuels until 2060, lowering renewable energy targets for 2030, and promoting high-risk or non-renewable 'new energy' sources like nuclear, hydrogen, and ammonia. The report highlights the environmental and social risks of bioenergy, specifically co-firing and Energy Plantation Forests (HTE), which it links to deforestation and land grabbing. It further argues that the policy lacks transparency, excludes community-scale renewable energy, and prioritizes industrial interests over human rights and ecological sustainability.

The report identifies a systemic network of financial support for Indonesia's coal industry, noting that between 2020 and 2023, at least IDR 163 trillion was disbursed to coal-related activities. It highlights the role of state-owned banks, particularly Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, as primary funders. The document argues that this financial support, combined with 'regulatory capture' and the influence of a wealthy elite (the 1%), creates a state of 'climate delay.' It specifically criticizes the OJK's updated green taxonomy for labeling certain coal-fired power plants as 'Green' or 'Transition,' which the authors characterize as greenwashing. The report also maps the ownership and political affiliations of seven major coal companies, linking them to politically exposed persons and individuals listed in Offshore Leaks.

The report identifies a systemic link between Indonesia's coal industry, political elites, and national banks, which continues to fund fossil fuel expansion despite global climate commitments.

The report alleges that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a $600 million loan to Indonesia's state-run utility, Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which lacks a 'no-coal' clause and may be used to fund coal expansion, including the Java 9 & 10 project. This contradicts ADB's public climate pledges and its October 2021 Energy Policy. The report highlights the severe health and environmental impacts of coal in Banten Province, where the Suralaya Power Station operates, and criticizes the lack of financial transparency as loan proceeds are mixed into PLN's general account.

The report details the environmental and social impacts of the Obi Island Nickel Industrial Estate, operated by Trimegah Bangun Persada (TBP), and traces the indirect funding from the IFC via banks like OCBC NISP, DBS Bank, and KEB Hana. It highlights severe pollution, biodiversity loss, and the use of captive coal power plants that contradict the IFC's climate commitments.

The report details the environmental and social degradation of Obi Island caused by the nickel industrial park operated by Trimegah Bangun Persada (TBP) and its subsidiaries. It specifically criticizes the IFC for providing funding to financial intermediaries—OCBC NISP, DBS Bank Ltd, and KEB Hana—which in turn finance TBP's operations. The author highlights that these operations rely on captive coal-fired power plants, which the report claims contradicts the IFC's Paris Agreement alignment and its own Performance Standards. Documented impacts include heavy metal contamination of marine biota, drinking water pollution exceeding Indonesian safety standards, high rates of Acute Respiratory Infection in children, and the displacement of local communities.

The complaint argues that the Java 9 and 10 coal plants, with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW, cause severe environmental and health damage to local communities in Cilegon, Banten. It alleges that the IFC failed in its due diligence and supervision of Hana Bank Indonesia, which provided $56 million in project finance to the developer PT Indo Raya Tenaga despite being a pilot client for the IFC's Green Equity Approach. The complainants highlight deficiencies in the project's Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), including a lack of alternatives analysis, inadequate cumulative impact assessments, and failures in community consultation and displacement mitigation. They seek a full compliance review, redress for harms, and systemic policy changes to eliminate IFC's indirect support for coal.

Trend Asia challenges PT PLN's claim that biomass co-firing facilitates an energy transition and reduces emissions. The report argues that the massive land requirements for energy plantation forests (HTE) to supply wood pellets would lead to significant deforestation, resulting in net carbon emissions rather than reductions. It finds that biomass has become a complement to, rather than a substitute for, coal, with total coal consumption continuing to rise.

Trend Asia argues that PT PLN's biomass co-firing strategy does not reduce coal utilization and instead increases overall emissions due to deforestation and the carbon-intensive production of wood pellets. The report calculates that implementing 10% co-firing across 107 power plants could generate between 7.9 and 26.5 million tonnes of CO2e annually, depending on the tree species used, while potentially requiring millions of hectares of land for energy timber plantations (HTE).

The report finds that Jakarta's urban climate finance from 2015-2019 totaled USD 44.9 billion, heavily dominated by public funding and a single mega-project, the Giant Sea Wall. Despite having the highest fiscal capacity in Indonesia, Jakarta underutilizes private finance, which accounted for only 2% of total climate investment. The study recommends better alignment between the city, the central government, and satellite cities, alongside the adoption of innovative financing tools like green municipal bonds to reduce reliance on central government funding, especially given plans to move the national capital.

The report investigates the potential for municipal green bonds to support Indonesia's goal of 23% renewable energy by 2025. While provincial governments in Java and Bali generally meet fiscal eligibility criteria, no municipal bonds have been successfully issued as of 2021. Key barriers include complex bureaucratic procedures, a lack of profitable project pipelines, and a conservative investor market primarily motivated by credit ratings and commercial returns rather than green mandates. The authors recommend simplifying issuance requirements, providing clearer central government policy signals, and targeting quasi-government institutions as initial investors.

The report identifies thousands of mining concessions and dozens of coal-fired power plants (PLTU) located in areas high-risk for earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides. It argues that a 'science-policy gap' exists where economic interests of oligarchs override disaster mitigation and environmental safety. The document highlights specific cases, such as the PLTU in Teluk Sepang and the mining in Wadas, to illustrate how these projects exacerbate disaster risks and marginalize local communities. It further claims that the Minerba Law and the Omnibus Law (Job Creation Law) weaken environmental protections and facilitate the expansion of risky extractive projects.

The report identifies thousands of mining concessions and dozens of coal-fired power plants located in areas prone to earthquakes, floods, and landslides across Indonesia. It argues that a 'science-policy gap' exists where the Indonesian government ignores disaster risks to facilitate investments for 'extractive oligarchs,' often through National Strategic Projects (PSN). The document details specific case studies, such as the Panau Coal Steam-Power Plant and the Bener Dam project, to illustrate how these investments increase community vulnerability and environmental degradation. It concludes that recent legislative changes, including the Job Creation Law (Omnibus Law), further exacerbate these risks by loosening environmental regulations and centralizing spatial planning authority.

The document highlights a severe financial crisis at PLN, characterized by a 38 trillion rupiah loss in Q1 2020 and 500 trillion rupiah in debt linked to the 35,000 MW infrastructure project. It argues that the Java-Bali system is suffering from oversupply due to overestimated economic growth and electricity demand projections. The text calls for the government to stop new coal-fired power plant projects, such as PLTU Jawa 9 & 10, to prevent further losses and environmental damage.

The document examines how fuel subsidy reforms in Indonesia affect SMEs, noting that while these businesses are generally less energy-intensive than large enterprises, they are more vulnerable to price shocks. It highlights that indirect impacts—such as increased transportation costs and reduced purchasing power of low-income consumers—are often more severe than direct energy cost increases. The author recommends government support through improved credit access, infrastructure investment, and technical assistance for energy efficiency and alternative energy adoption.

The document evaluates the effectiveness of investment incentives for Indonesia's chemical sector, finding that market size is a more significant driver of investment than incentives. While the industry provides some infrastructure and indirect jobs, direct local employment is limited by education levels, and the sector remains the country's primary polluter, though foreign firms often show better environmental performance than domestic ones.

The report finds that while Indonesia offers various investment incentives, such as tax facilities and import duty exemptions, these are not the primary drivers for FDI in the chemical sector; instead, the large domestic market and international interest rates are more significant. While FDI has fostered economic growth and provided employment in Banten province, the industry remains heavily dependent on imported inputs and has caused significant air pollution, although foreign-invested firms generally show higher environmental compliance than domestic ones.

The Accreditation Panel (AP) assessed PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (PT SMI), a state-owned Indonesian entity, for GCF accreditation. While PT SMI has a track record in financing renewable energy and climate-resilient infrastructure, the AP found it only 'partially meets' several GCF fiduciary and environmental and social standards due to a recent transition in its business model. Consequently, the AP recommends accrediting PT SMI for 'small' project sizes and 'medium' environmental and social risk (Category B/I-2), rather than the 'large' size and 'high' risk (Category A/I-1) categories requested. Accreditation is conditional upon the applicant fulfilling several requirements, including formalizing its procurement framework, enhancing grant management, and demonstrating full application of its 2016 environmental, social, and gender guidelines.