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The document argues that Indonesia's critical minerals industry, particularly nickel, is characterized by 'green extractivism' where global decarbonization narratives mask local ecological destruction and human rights abuses. It highlights the role of National Strategic Projects (PSN) in bypassing environmental protections and the heavy dominance of Chinese capital and technology in the supply chain. The report documents severe impacts including fatal workplace accidents, massive deforestation in North Maluku, health crises such as spikes in respiratory infections, and the systemic impoverishment of local communities.

In 2025, global coal capacity increased by 3.5% while production fell by 0.6%, as coal is increasingly used as 'system insurance' rather than a primary energy source. This trend is most prominent in China and India, where renewables are meeting new demand despite record coal plant commissioning. Globally, the number of countries proposing new coal plants dropped to 32. In Indonesia, coal expansion continues through 'captive' plants for nickel and aluminium industries, reaching 20 GW, while national energy plans (RUKN and RUPTL) are criticized for maintaining fossil fuel dependency and lacking a clear phase-out roadmap despite official net-zero commitments.

In 2025, global coal capacity increased by 3.5% while production fell by 0.6%, as coal is increasingly used as 'system insurance' rather than a primary energy source. While the number of countries pursuing new coal projects dropped to 32, China and India continue massive expansions. In Indonesia, the growth of captive coal plants for nickel and aluminium processing contradicts national climate commitments, with the RUPTL 2025-2034 continuing to plan for on-grid coal investment despite a formal moratorium.

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.

Indonesia is experiencing a surge in 'captive' coal-fired power plants—industrial plants not connected to the national grid—which are growing significantly faster than on-grid capacity. Driven largely by nickel smelting in Sulawesi and North Maluku, total operational and prospective captive capacity is projected to reach 31 GW, nearly tripling 2023 levels. The report highlights critical transparency gaps in government and JETP data, regulatory loopholes for National Strategic Projects (PSN), and severe long-term economic and health costs, including an estimated 27,000 additional deaths and USD 20 billion in cumulative economic burdens if these plants are not phased out.

The report examines the application of JETP Just Transition Standard 9 in Air Buaya and Pasir Putih, Maluku. It identifies risks for diesel plant workers in Air Buaya and severe cold-chain infrastructure gaps in Pasir Putih's tuna fishery. To address these, the authors propose a 'Self-Sustaining Workforce Transition Model' for worker reskilling and a three-phase financing strategy—moving from grants to de-risking instruments—to establish solar-powered cold-chain facilities.

The document assesses the ESG landscape of Indonesia's nickel industry, which is critical to the global energy transition. While Indonesia has seen massive economic growth from nickel downstreaming, it faces significant challenges including high carbon intensity, workplace fatalities, and rising agrarian disputes. The brief maps Indonesian regulations against international standards (such as IRMA and ICMM), identifying gaps in human rights due diligence, anti-corruption mandates, and sustainability reporting. It recommends strengthening biodiversity monitoring, mandating free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and establishing climate governance systems to align with global best practices.

Indonesia's RUKN 2024-2060 projects a coal capacity increase of 26.8 GW by 2031, primarily driven by over 20 GW of new captive coal plants for mineral processing. This expansion is expected to push coal generation to a peak of 494 TWh in 2037, contradicting the country's Low Carbon Scenario and JETP targets. The report highlights that new captive coal is more expensive than grid-connected coal and renewables, while lacking the emissions reporting and trading requirements imposed on the grid. It recommends reassessing captive coal plans, enforcing stricter emissions standards, and accelerating renewable energy deployment to avoid carbon lock-in.

The report finds that Indonesia's captive coal capacity tripled between 2019 and 2024, reaching 15.2 GW, with projections to hit 26.2 GW by 2026. This growth is primarily driven by the nickel, aluminium, and iron and steel industries. The authors argue that this trend contradicts Indonesia's climate goals and will cause significant public health burdens, including an estimated 27,000 additional deaths if captive plants are excluded from a 2040 coal phase-out. While some companies are adopting solar and hydro, the report emphasizes that renewable energy solutions are now cost-competitive with coal.

The report examines the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), highlighting a labor system where IMIP acts as a central distributor for approximately 40 tenant companies. It details systemic issues including non-transparent recruitment, sporadic worker transfers without consent, and wages that often fall below the district minimum, forcing workers into excessive overtime. The document links these conditions, along with inadequate safety equipment and health services, to a high rate of fatal work accidents. It further analyzes the dominance of Chinese investment via the Belt and Road Initiative and argues that the government's 'downstreaming' policy has failed to reduce poverty in nickel-producing provinces.

The report examines the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), highlighting a systemic failure in labor protections despite the park's role as a center for nickel downstreaming. It details non-transparent recruitment, unstable employment contracts, and inadequate safety measures that contribute to frequent workplace accidents. The document also analyzes the dominance of Chinese investment via the Belt and Road Initiative and the resulting socio-economic disparities in the Morowali region.

The report details the 'destructive power' of the nickel industry in North Maluku, specifically across Weda Bay, Gebe Island, Buli Bay, Subaim-Wasile, and Obi Island. It highlights a paradox where the province's economic growth exceeds 20% due to nickel exports, while poverty increases and local livelihoods—such as fishing and farming—are destroyed. Key impacts include severe deforestation, water contamination with heavy metals (hexavalent chromium, nickel, and copper), and a surge in Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases near coal-fired power plants. The document also records numerous industrial accidents at PT IWIP and the criminalization of residents resisting mining. It concludes that the 'clean energy transition' via electric vehicle batteries is built on an 'unclean and unjust' production chain.

The report details the destructive effects of nickel mining in North Maluku, highlighting severe deforestation, water pollution, and health crises. It contrasts high GDP growth driven by nickel exports with rising poverty and the loss of traditional livelihoods in farming and fishing. Specific case studies in Teluk Weda, Pulau Gebe, Teluk Buli, Subaim-Wasile, and Pulau Obi illustrate a pattern of corporate negligence, labor accidents, and state-backed land seizures.

The briefing highlights the negative environmental and social impacts of critical mineral extraction in Argentina, Indonesia, and Guinea, arguing that the UN Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals must center the voices of affected communities to avoid 'green extractivism'. It documents issues such as the violation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in lithium mining, pollution and labor abuses in nickel downstreaming, and the loss of agricultural land in bauxite mining. The document concludes with recommendations for governments and companies to protect indigenous rights, ensure transparency in GHG emissions, and end the criminalization of environmental defenders.

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 document highlights a surge in 'captive' coal power—plants operated off-grid by industrial users—which grew from 1.4 GW in 2013 to 10.8 GW in 2023. A vast majority of this capacity is dedicated to metal smelting, particularly nickel and aluminium, often justified by policies to increase the 'value add' of natural resources. The report warns that while Indonesia is a key supplier of minerals for the global energy transition, the reliance of these smelters on coal contradicts national climate targets and the goals of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). It recommends integrating the phase-out of captive coal power into national plans to avoid significant health costs and carbon emissions.

The report argues that Indonesia's biomass co-firing policy, led by PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), threatens natural forests. To achieve 10% co-firing across 107 coal power plants, Trend Asia estimates a need for at least 2.33 million hectares of energy wood plantations. Based on historical data showing 38% of industrial timber plantations were established via deforestation, the report warns that this policy could increase annual deforestation rates from 630 thousand to 2.1 million hectares. It further highlights contradictions between the government's Enhanced NDC emission targets and its increasing deforestation quotas, while noting that biomass burning creates a 'carbon debt' rather than being carbon neutral.

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 project aims to improve coastal fisheries in FMAs 715, 717, and 718 by implementing EAFM principles through four main components: establishing enabling policy and capacity, deploying management tools like MPAs and Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs), operationalizing the Blue Abadi Fund for sustainable financing in West Papua, and creating knowledge management platforms. The initiative targets the recovery of 39,329 tons of over-exploited fisheries and the improved management of 3.6 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPAs), while integrating gender equality and indigenous rights into its governance.

The document details the negative impacts of Harita Group's nickel operations on Obi Island, including marine pollution, forced relocation of residents, and workplace fatalities. It highlights the company's reliance on coal-fired power plants (PLTU) and argues that the IPO of PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL) enables further destruction. The text specifically criticizes investors like Glencore and Fidelity International, as well as several global banking underwriters, for breaching net-zero and Paris Agreement commitments by supporting the company.