The recent commemoration of World Anti-Corruption Day (Hakordia) 2025 on December 9th, with the theme “Unite Action, Eradicate Corruption,” provided a crucial opportunity for Indonesia to reflect on its efforts to combat corruption across sectors, including energy and natural resources.
Amidst the ambitious national energy transition—touted as a vital step to prevent global warming and shift from dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy—corruption remains a persistent threat.
More than just a hypothetical threat, corruption has infiltrated energy transition projects, threatening the targets of international agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Net Zero Emissions agenda.
Promoting a just energy transition is impossible without recognizing and addressing “corruption” as a common enemy that must be prevented, so that the energy transition proceeds as intended—successfully achieving the targets of international climate agreements and shifting from dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy.
In a discussion on climate corruption in Bandung in May 2025, corruption was seen as a significant obstacle to achieving development targets, including climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The climate crisis will worsen if corruption is allowed to flourish behind green projects, which, ironically, are intended to save the planet.
Corruption in the context of the energy transition is not a new issue. Renewable energy development projects and critical minerals—such as nickel, a key component of electric vehicle batteries—have become fertile ground for corruption.
This year alone, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) warned that the energy transition business is vulnerable to corruption, with the potential for price markups, tender fixing, and high levels of conflict of interest.
A clear example is the scandal at Pertamina in May 2025, in which senior officials were allegedly involved in corruption related to the procurement of oil refineries and in the manipulation of financial reports for major energy projects worth trillions of rupiah.
This case not only harmed the state but also hampered the transition to clean energy, as funds intended for renewable energy were misappropriated.
Even old cases remain relevant as lessons. In 2020, corruption in a solar power project for remote villages in East Kutai Regency cost the state Rp 53.6 billion, with the funds being used for luxury items such as Range Rovers.
Similarly, the 2008 case involving the procurement of solar power plants (PLTS) for transmigration areas involved elite political families and resulted in losses of Rp 3.8 billion.
In the critical minerals sector, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)’s sting operation (OTT) against the Governor of North Maluku in 2023 related to bribery in nickel permits, as well as illegal nickel exploitation in PT Antam’s concession in Southeast Sulawesi, served as a reminder that the energy transition can be a pretext for corruption.
Furthermore, in March 2025, the Danantara issue—the energy transition fund—was identified as a potential corruption loophole if governance was not tightened.
Furthermore, corruption in the natural resources sector not only hinders the energy transition but also triggers natural disasters that damage the environment and people’s lives. A recent example is the flash floods and landslides that struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra in late November 2025, in which rivers were filled with logs, wood debris, and plastic waste, indicating human-caused rather than natural causes.
This disaster was caused by mass deforestation due to illegal logging, illegal palm oil plantations, and unlicensed mining, all overshadowed by corrupt practices such as bribery for permits, policy manipulation, and weak oversight by certain officials.
According to a KPK study, state losses reached IDR 35 trillion per year from illegal logging, with net deforestation in Sumatra reaching 78,030 hectares by 2024—including 11,210 hectares in Aceh, 7,030 hectares in North Sumatra, and 6,630 hectares in West Sumatra—exacerbating vulnerability to climate change and hampering adaptation efforts such as those required for the energy transition.
This rent-seeking practice by business and political oligarchs not only damages forest ecosystems as carbon sinks but also weakens national resilience to the climate crisis, making natural resource corruption a direct obstacle to achieving the Net Zero Emission target.
How Should We Fight?
How do we combat corruption while overseeing the energy transition? Todung Mulya Lubis, in his article “Corruption Map: Potholes Everywhere” (Prisma Magazine, 2018), stated that the heart of corruption eradication lies not in repressive measures, investigations, prosecutions, trials, and imprisonment, but instead in governance.
How do we establish governance for the energy transition? The Energy and Natural Resources Task Force of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Monitoring Directorate, in a mid-November discussion, outlined at least five characteristics of corruption risks in the energy transition.
First, high levels of investment risk attract rent-seekers without adequate accountability.
Second, demands for acceleration lead to poorly designed policies and minimal transparency.
Third, there is a risk of discretion and exceptions in licensing, which can provide special treatment to certain parties.
Fourth, the rapid pace of policy governance change creates regulatory uncertainty and hinders healthy competition. Fifth, there is the risk of political capture and conflicts of interest.
Based on this study, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) identified several issues that could become corruption hotspots. These include weak policy design; poor project planning and performance; weak, inappropriate, overlapping, and non-transparent planning, assignments, and institutional design.
Then there are the risks of conflicts of interest and fraud at the project level; unaccountable program design and implementation that pose high risks for State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN); and non-transparent pricing for New and Renewable Energy (EBT).
From the above description, the conclusion is clear: governance is the key ingredient. While not easy—it’s not as easy as turning the palm of your hand—building good governance is not impossible.
For me, good governance is essential to ensuring a just energy transition: fair, transparent, accountable, environmentally sustainable, and inclusive of public participation at every stage.
In closing, I would like to quote the statement of the National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia in a recent discussion on corruption in the energy transition:
“There will be no just energy transition if there is corruption. When there is corruption, what happens is no longer a just energy transition, but rather more damage, both humanitarian and ecological.”
Let us safeguard the energy transition; let us combat corruption.
Source: Kompas Lestari and Detik
Author: Ariyansah NK