Jakarta – Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia has launched a research report titled “Improving Transparency of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions in Indonesia’s Coal Sector through the EITI 2023 Standard”. The launch was held in conjunction with a public discussion on the same theme in Central Jakarta on Thursday (12/03/2026).
Several stakeholders attended as respondents, including representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the Ministry of Environment (KLH), the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI), and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
In her opening remarks, Astrid Meliala, a senior researcher at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) and one of the report’s authors, stated that the energy sector accounts for nearly three-quarters (75 percent) of global GHG emissions. The largest share comes from electricity and heat generation, followed by the transportation and manufacturing sectors.
At the national level, coal accounts for approximately 51 percent of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. In addition to CO₂, high coal production increases methane (CH₄) emissions, which are among the most potent greenhouse gases. In 2024, emissions from coal mine opening activities were estimated to potentially be up to eight times higher than the government’s official data.
However, despite this sector’s significant contribution to national emissions, the report found that the available data remains non-transparent, inconsistent, and often fails to reflect actual conditions. Public access to GHG emissions information is still limited.
This situation leads to weak accountability, meaning that claims or commitments to reduce emissions risk become mere rhetoric without any verifiable basis. Therefore, transparency must be positioned as the primary foundation of emissions governance. The government is urged to mandate public disclosure of emissions data, establish uniform and accurate reporting standards, and ensure that all business actors, both large and small, take responsibility for reporting their emissions. Furthermore, emissions disclosure must cover all types of greenhouse gases, including methane, which has long been overlooked despite its far greater warming impact.
“Transparency and emissions reporting will serve as a public oversight instrument for the climate impacts of mining activities. This also has direct implications for achieving national climate targets,” Astrid said.
In this context, the EITI 2023 Standard, particularly Requirement 3.4, is viewed as a strategic instrument to drive transparency. However, for it to be effective, the standard must be adopted as a mandatory requirement in national regulations, rather than remaining voluntary.
PWYP Indonesia researcher Muhammad Adzkia Farirahman added that transparency in GHG emissions still faces numerous challenges. One key issue is the lack of an integrated supporting ecosystem within the coal sector’s business processes. He pointed out that the obligation to report emissions has not yet been integrated into core mining processes, such as the approval of the Annual Work Plan and Budget (RKAB). Yet this mechanism could serve as an opportunity for the government to provide guidance and promote more systematic disclosure of emissions data.
From a regulatory standpoint, the government already has several rules mandating GHG emissions disclosure, ranging from the Public Information Disclosure Law to various sectoral policies on energy transition and emissions control under the authority of the Ministry of ESDM and KLH.
Nevertheless, the public still cannot access this emissions data directly. Meanwhile, KLH has not published its data in accordance with international platform standards. As a result, information disputes concerning access to emissions data continue to reach the cassation and judicial review stages.
Responding to these findings, Budiharto from the GHG Inventory Directorate and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MPV) Division at KLH acknowledged that although emissions reporting has been mandated by Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 110 of 2025, its implementation has not yet run optimally.
“Business actors are indeed required to report emissions, but the results have not met expectations. The findings from this research will greatly assist us in refining the reporting system going forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, from the Ministry of ESDM, the government is currently focusing on the electricity and mining sectors. Director of Coal Business Development, Surya Herjuna, stated that the government is preparing a GHG emissions inventory, including trials and public consultations on implementation readiness. He viewed the research findings as important input for this process.
On the other hand, CREA Analyst Katherine Hasan emphasized that transparency of emissions data is the key to driving accountability and overseeing the energy transition.
“Real-time emissions data openness is the main catalyst for validating decarbonization and attracting global green investment. Transparency must become the foundation for energy sovereignty and sustainable economic growth,” Katherine said.
Author: Ariyansyah N Kiliu
Reviewer: Mouna Wasef