A true energy transition is not about the size of the investment, but how open, just, and transparent it is to those who are least heard.
Last week, the world marked #OpenGovernmentWeek 2026, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) globally. For some, this might sound like a technical government affair detached from daily life. Yet, the core idea is simple and concerns us all: an open government that lets its citizens know where government policies are headed, how they are implemented, and allows them to help shape the choices that affect their lives.
Over the past 15 years, this commitment has been continuously strengthened and expanded. In Indonesia, it takes the form of the Open Government Indonesia National Action Plan (RAN OGI). The latest, RAN OGI VIII for the 2026-2027 period, contains 19 strategic commitments. Among these, energy, environment, and natural resource issues hold a vital position as pillars to oversee green financing transparency and ensure meaningful public participation.
This is where government openness stops being administrative jargon and begins to touch upon the most fundamental issue: justice.
Clean Energy, But Just for Whom?
Indonesia is moving toward its Net Zero Emission target by 2060. We are blessed with abundant renewable energy potential, and this ambition deserves support. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to reality on the ground: access to clean energy remains unequal, especially in remote communities and among vulnerable groups.
Therefore, the energy transition should not be understood merely as a matter of sophisticated technology or the size of investment figures. Beyond that, the energy transition is a socio-ecological justice agenda. It concerns a frequently overlooked question: who bears the burden, and who enjoys the benefits?
That question demands that we view grassroots communities not as objects of development, but as “right holders” to information, to participation, and to the future of their own regions.
Learning from the Communities of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara
It is not just theory. The experiences of communities in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) prove it. There, local communities, especially women and vulnerable groups, are not passive beneficiaries, but key actors capable of leading the energy transition at the local level.
There are renewable energy-based MSME innovations.
There is the resilience of rural women’s leadership.
There is a pentahelix collaboration model running in practice.
Unfortunately, these valuable initiatives are often not optimally recognized in macro policies.
Good practices proven on the ground rarely scale up to become national policy references. Yet, it is precisely from there that inclusive policies should be built—from the bottom up, not the other way around. This is why the GEDSI principles—Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion—are not merely document decorations, but non-negotiable values. Amidst the clamor of the global energy transition narrative, not a single group should be left behind: not women, not children, not indigenous peoples, not persons with disabilities. The principle is clear: no one left behind.
Substantive Openness, Not Just Formality
This is where the openness agenda and the energy justice agenda meet. For a just energy transition is impossible to achieve without transparency. The public has a right to know where transition funds flow, who manages them, and who benefits.
Non-transparent green financing will only wrap old injustices in a new guise. Massive funds flow in the name of clean energy, but the old pattern remains: the powerful decide, the weak bear the burden. Only with substantive transparency, rather than mere formality on paper, will the resulting policies be truly valid, democratic, and responsive to the real needs of the community.
Fifteen Years, and a Warning
We have been committed to openness for fifteen years. But experience teaches us a bitter lesson: commitments on paper do not automatically translate into justice on the ground. Recognition of rural women’s leadership, community initiatives, and the voices of vulnerable groups is not enough to just be uttered in warm forums filled with applause. It must be integrated into policy documents, budget allocations, and development success indicators. A forum loses its meaning if it stops at being a space for listening to one another but fails to change how policies are made.
The momentum of Open Government Week should serve as a reminder, not just an annual ceremony. Government openness is only meaningful when it is materialized and proven to bring concrete impacts to people’s lives. Our energy transition will be tested not by the scale of its investment, but by how justly it treats those who have been least heard.
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This piece was developed from the author’s remarks at the Citizen Forum: Just and Inclusive Community-Based Energy Transition, held as part of Open Government Week 2026 on May 22, 2026, organized by Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia.
Source: Indonesiana