Search Climate Insights Directory

The document reports on a series of protests in Indonesia during August 2025, where tens of thousands of workers and students demanded wage increases, labor law reforms, and an end to mass layoffs. It details severe police brutality, including the death of Affan Kurniawan, mass arrests, and torture. The statement argues that these actions reflect a systemic pattern of repression and calls for the Indonesian government to end police violence, investigate abuses, and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED).

A joint statement by Indonesia Corruption Watch, Trend Asia, and KontraS condemning the use of tactical vehicles by the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to suppress protests on August 28, 2025, which resulted in the death of Affan Kurniawan. The organizations highlight that Polri spent Rp1.93 trillion on 98 tactical and special vehicles between 2020 and 2024, with significant imports from South Korea's Daeji Precision & Industries Co Ltd totaling US$63.8 million (Rp1.05 trillion) from 2019-2023. The statement criticizes the approved 2026 police budget of Rp173.47 trillion and demands budget cuts and accountability for human rights violations.

The 'Banking on Renewables' report critiques the current funding models of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), arguing that the rush to increase renewable energy capacity often leads to 'green extractivism' and human rights violations. It proposes three core criteria for public funding: financing a total transition to 100% renewables (excluding 'false solutions' like CCUS), ensuring democratic and decentralized energy systems, and centering people and the planet. Through case studies in India, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Indonesia, the report contrasts large-scale projects that displace communities with community-led initiatives that improve local livelihoods. It concludes with a ten-point action plan urging MDBs to increase grants over loans, adopt a strict renewable energy taxonomy, and mandate Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all projects.

The report highlights the risks faced by human rights defenders (HRDs) in Indonesia, using the Rempang Eco-City project as a case study. It details how residents of Rempang Island, including Indigenous seafarers, have faced violence, intimidation, and judicial harassment from government and private security forces while protesting a proposed USD11.6 billion glass and solar panel factory. The document notes that despite the goals of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) to decarbonise Indonesia's economy, projects like the Rempang Eco-City—which would rely on coal power—have led to evictions and physical attacks on community members.

The briefing argues that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) uses technical assistance (TA) as a form of indirect funding that prolongs reliance on fossil gas. While TA is a small portion of overall financial commitments, it significantly influences policy directions and project design. The authors call for the ADB to align its energy policy with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal by phasing out fossil gas support and implementing stricter risk disclosure, transparency, and accountability mechanisms for TA.

The briefing contends that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) uses technical assistance (TA) to enable fossil gas infrastructure and planning, despite pledges to align with the Paris Agreement. It highlights how vague terms like 'low-carbon' and 'transition infrastructure' allow the ADB to support gas-related projects in countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia. The document notes that TA for energy projects in 2024 lacked fuel specifications in 45.9% of cases, hindering transparency. It further argues that these projects often ignore gender impacts and risk creating stranded assets. The author recommends that the ADB explicitly exclude fossil gas from its 'clean energy' definitions and phase out all direct and indirect support for midstream and downstream gas infrastructure.

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.

In 2024, global new coal capacity reached its lowest level in two decades at 44 GW, though China and India continued significant expansions. While the EU27 saw a fourfold increase in plant closures and the UK shut its last coal plant, Indonesia faces a contradictory trend: overall proposed capacity is down 90% since 2015, but 'captive' coal plants for industrial use are surging. Indonesia's transition is further complicated by conflicting government statements on a 2040 phase-out, the withdrawal of the US from the JETP leadership, and record coal production reaching 831 million tons in 2024.

In 2024, the world commissioned the lowest amount of new coal power capacity in twenty years (44 GW), yet the global coal fleet still grew by 18.8 GW because additions exceeded retirements. The report highlights a stark divergence: while the UK became coal-free and EU27 retirements quadrupled, China saw its highest construction starts since 2015 (94 GW) and India recorded its highest year for new proposals (38.4 GW). Together, China and India accounted for 92% of all newly proposed coal capacity in 2024. In the OECD, proposals have plummeted from 142 in 2015 to five today, though annual retirements must more than triple to 70 GW to meet 1.5°C pathways. The report also notes the rise of 'captive' coal plants in Indonesia and the promotion of ammonia co-firing in Japan and South Korea as strategies to prolong coal use.

The Solidaritas Merauke movement denounces the impact of National Strategic Projects (PSN) and state-corporate actions in Merauke, citing the loss of ancestral lands, spiritual sites, and livelihoods, as well as human rights abuses. The declaration demands an immediate end to these projects and the return of stolen resources to the people.

The Solidaritas Merauke Declaration denounces the impact of National Strategic Projects (PSN) in Merauke, describing them as state-corporate crimes that cause the dispossession of indigenous lands, destruction of traditional knowledge, and physical violence. The movement rejects policy reforms used to seize wealth and demands an immediate halt to PSN and other national interest projects, warning that failure to address these issues will lead to widespread social-ecological chaos across the Indonesian archipelago.

The statement argues that large-scale forest biomass energy is not carbon neutral and actively harms the climate, biodiversity, and human rights. It claims that current carbon accounting erroneously labels biomass as zero-emission, which masks the actual greenhouse gas releases and encourages deforestation. The document further asserts that biomass energy extends the lifespan of coal plants and diverts investment from truly low-emission renewables like wind and solar. It calls on governments and financial institutions to stop the expansion of the biomass industry and eliminate related subsidies in favor of forest restoration.

The report argues that Indonesia's promotion of natural gas as a 'transitional fuel' and the continued financing of gas projects by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) lock the country into fossil fuel dependence and hinder its climate commitments. It highlights significant environmental, social, and governance risks associated with gas infrastructure, including methane emissions, corruption, and human rights violations, while calling for an immediate shift toward renewable energy.

The report argues that promoting LNG as a 'transition fuel' in Indonesia creates a long-term dependency on fossil fuels and contradicts climate commitments. It highlights that Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), including the World Bank Group and ADB, continue to support gas infrastructure through technical assistance and policy loans despite their public Paris Alignment pledges. The document details numerous negative impacts of gas projects, including corruption in LNG procurement, human rights violations in Aceh, and environmental disasters such as the PHE ONWJ oil spill in Karawang. It concludes that gas is not a clean alternative due to high methane emissions and calls for an immediate shift to truly renewable energy.

The report argues that the revision of the South Papua Provincial Spatial Plan (RTRWP) is being rushed and lacks transparency, primarily to facilitate National Strategic Projects (PSN) in food and bioenergy. This process involves the release and functional downgrading of over 700,000 hectares of forest, threatening 644,994 hectares of natural forest and 49 indigenous territories. The document highlights that bioenergy projects—including bioethanol, biofuel, and biomass—often prioritize exports over local needs and risk repeating past human rights violations. Furthermore, the plan overlaps with existing industrial forestry concessions (PBPH), suggesting a potential handover of land to corporations, and threatens High Conservation Value Areas (HCVA) essential for biodiversity and indigenous livelihoods.

Trend Asia warns that integrating biofuels into the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Global Fuel Standard would drive catastrophic environmental and social damage. The statement highlights that food- and feed-based biofuels, particularly those promoted by Brazil, are linked to land grabbing, deforestation, and life-cycle emissions that can exceed those of fossil diesel. It calls for the IMO to instead prioritize energy efficiency, wind assistance, and demand reduction to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The document details the legal actions taken by a coalition of civil society organizations, including Trend Asia, WALHI, and Greenpeace Indonesia, against the Indonesian government's National Electricity General Plan (RUKN) and the Electricity Supply Business Plan (RUPTL). It argues that these plans ignore the escalating climate crisis—exemplified by Cyclone Senyar—and instead lock the country into fossil fuel dependency through the extension of coal-fired power plants (PLTU) and the use of biomass co-firing, which the authors claim drives deforestation. The coalition alleges that these policies violate multiple national laws and international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement, by failing to provide a clear coal phase-out roadmap and ignoring cheaper renewable energy alternatives.

The report finds that the development of the 3,500-hectare Kawasan Industri Takalar (KITA) has been characterized by a severe lack of transparency and meaningful public participation, violating the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Residents of Desa Laikang, primarily seaweed farmers and fishers, report minimal official information and feel excluded from planning. The audit reveals a discrepancy between the company's public narrative of 'aquabusiness' and official documents that prioritize heavy industry, such as nickel downstreaming and electric vehicle assembly. Economic compensation is limited to low-value land payments (Rp 5,000 to Rp 11,000 per square meter) without livelihood protection. Furthermore, the project's ownership is concentrated within the family of a national political elite, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. The community has responded with formal protests and a village-level declaration of rejection, which the government has largely ignored.

The document details a Marine Fuel Oil (MFO) pipeline leak on August 23, 2025, in Desa Lioka, which contaminated 82 hectares of land and 10 km of the Koromusilu River. It highlights a pattern of five oil spills in Luwu Timur since 2009 and links the infrastructure failure to the region's high seismic activity, noting 404 earthquakes along the pipeline route between 2015 and 2025. The report criticizes PT Vale's sustainability commitments as vague regarding MFO reduction and references the company's global history of dam disasters in Brazil.

The document highlights Indonesia's climate crisis, noting record temperatures in Larantuka and the country's position as a top ten global greenhouse gas emitter due to coal dependency. It criticizes the government's continued construction of coal-fired power plants (PLTU), the use of biomass co-firing that threatens forests and indigenous peoples, and the environmental damage caused by nickel mining for electric vehicle batteries. The guide advocates for community-based renewable energy and provides a framework for individual and collective action, including reducing transport emissions, mindful consumption, and demanding political accountability.