Indonesia: How to Have a Bad Renewable Energy Strategy

Indonesia's strategy to increase renewable energy production could lead to Indigenous communities getting displaced and losing huge acres of rainforest!

No matter how much we talk about climate change and saving ecology and wildlife, there are always some companies that will manage corrupt or environmentally unconcerned governments and create havoc for the people and the environment. For them, the only motive is profit, and the rest are just the means to achieve it. The planet doesn’t matter for them.

Something similar is happening in Indonesia these days. A biomass energy company is setting up its plant on the Island of Borneo.  An island known for its pristine rainforests and rare flora and fauna. One of the raw materials that they are planning to use is wooden pellets. Now, this plan has major flaws and risks for not only biodiversity but can be a problem from the emission perspective.

How?

The answers are not difficult to seek. Let’s understand the political scenario of this island and why Indonesia is so unconcerned about its ecological fate.

Borneo is the third largest island in the world. Only Greenland and New Guinea are bigger than it. If we consider the political and demographic scenario of these islands, Greenland is under Denmark and is very poorly inhabited. Its population is around 56,000 only.

New Guinea is a part of the Indonesian archipelago, and its population is 14.8 million.

On the other hand, Borneo Island is governed by three independent countries. Indonesia, which calls it “Kalimantan”, controls 73% of its territory. The sovereign state of Brunei (officially known as “Brunei Darussalam”) controls 1% of its territory, and the rest 26% of the territory is under Malaysia.

President of Indonesia Joko Widodo had proposed in 2019 that Kalimantan should be the new Capital of Indonesia. In January 2022, it was approved by the People’s Consultative Committee of Indonesia. The present capital, Jakarta, is sinking by approximately 25 cm per year, and they are afraid that a large part of it will be submerged by 2050. Then Jakarta is highly populated, with a population density of 14464 per sq.km. But this shifting is likely to cause massive deforestation, and perhaps this company is a veil for clearing the greenery of the Kalimantan.

Let’s see what havoc this company is going to create.

1. Using wooden pellets as raw materials means cutting trees.

Either they will clear the rainforest to get their raw material or import it. Both options pose significant environmental challenges. Clearing rainforests will not only lead to massive deforestation but also release huge tonnes of carbon stored in the forest biomass back into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change. Even if the pellets are imported, this will increase demand globally, encouraging deforestation in other regions to meet this unsustainable need.

2. Burning wood emits more CO₂ than coal per unit of electricity produced.

Biomass energy may seem renewable on paper, but its practical implications are far from sustainable. Wood combustion releases more CO₂ than coal, and regrowing the trees to offset emissions can take decades—time we cannot afford in the fight against climate change. Indonesia’s strategy might appear progressive but risks undermining global climate action efforts.

3. Displacing Indigenous communities is a direct violation of their rights and a threat to their survival.

Taking land from Indigenous communities without fair compensation not only forces them to relocate but also pushes them into poverty. These communities have lived sustainably in and around forests for generations, relying on indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) to manage and conserve these ecosystems. Removing them disrupts this balance and leads to further environmental degradation. 

What can be done?

If Indonesia or this company truly aims to contribute to sustainable development, the focus should shift to:

1. Using bamboo instead of wooden pellets. Bamboo grows rapidly, sequesters carbon efficiently, and regenerates without requiring replanting.

2. Establishing decentralised biomass processing units that engage and employ local communities reduces transportation emissions, creates jobs, and provides additional income opportunities. This approach fosters economic growth while alleviating pressure on the rainforest.

This situation seems to be heading in the same direction as Wilmer's Palm Oil, which led to the destruction of millions of acres of pristine Rainforest in Africa. This will severely affect the survival chances of already endangered animals, including the Sumatran elephant, Sunda Clouded leopard, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Sun Bear, Slow Loris, Borneo Elephant, Orangutan, Proboscis monkey, Red Giant Flying squirrel, etc.

Then, we must not forget that the green rhetoric around renewable energy projects often masks the underlying environmental and social costs.

Let’s stop the cycle of exploitation disguised as progress. The planet and its people deserve better.