Jakarta – Global efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels are bringing significant consequences for commodity-producing regions across Indonesia, including South Sumatra Province. As these regions face the risks of job losses, declining local revenues, and post-mining environmental degradation, ensuring the public’s right to information has become increasingly urgent to prevent the energy transition from marginalizing the rights of local communities.
In response to these challenges, the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) organized a Strategic Dialogue Forum titled “Public Information Disclosure in a Just Energy Transition in South Sumatra’s Coal Mining Regions” on Wednesday (20 May 2026) in Jakarta. Held as part of the Open Government Week (OGW) commemoration, the forum brought together representatives from the South Sumatra Provincial Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the Muara Enim District Office of Communication and Information (Kominfo), the Central Information Commission, and civil society organizations.
Speaking as the keynote speaker, Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, presented an in-depth analysis of the fiscal and ecological risks facing Indonesia’s coal-producing regions amid the country’s ongoing energy transition.
Addressing the Coal Paradox and the Risk of Stranded Assets
In his presentation, titled “Green Economic Growth and Risk Mitigation in Indonesia’s Coal-Producing Regions,” PWYP Indonesia presented critical data highlighting the country’s heavy fiscal dependence on the fossil fuel sector. Currently, around 75% of Indonesia’s non-tax state revenue (PNBP) from the mineral and coal mining sector is generated by coal, while the commodity also accounts for more than 52% of the country’s total energy exports.
However, Aryanto warned that this fiscal comfort would not last indefinitely. Since 2022, non-tax revenue from the mining sector has continued to decline due to volatility in global commodity prices. At the same time, Indonesia’s major export destinations, particularly China and India, have accelerated their domestic energy transitions, contributing to a 12% decline in Indonesia’s coal export volume.
“The threat of stranded assets—mining assets that are abandoned and no longer economically viable—is becoming a real risk for regions such as South Sumatra and Muara Enim. Unless transparent post-mining governance is established now, local governments and communities will ultimately bear the burden of this ecological debt,” Aryanto explained.
Information as a Tool to Address Power Imbalances
PWYP Indonesia highlighted a fundamental problem on the ground: affected communities are often the last to gain access to information about the future of their own regions. This lack of information creates significant social and economic vulnerabilities.
For PWYP Indonesia, transparency of key documents—including access to Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) documents, environmental rehabilitation guarantees, the implementation of Community Development and Empowerment (PPM) programs, and regional economic diversification plans—is an essential prerequisite. Without accurate and accessible information, public participation in regional dialogue forums risks becoming a mere procedural formality without meaningful influence.
“Public access to information is the primary instrument for addressing unequal power relations between corporations, governments, and citizens. This right to information must be fulfilled so that communities in South Sumatra can determine the future direction of regional development in an independent, sovereign, and equitable manner,” Aryanto stressed during the forum.
Strengthening Local Government’s Role and Driving Post-Mining Economic Transformation
As a strategic recommendation, the dialogue called for strengthening the role of local governments through the implementation of the Law on Financial Relations between the Central Government and Regional Governments (HKPD Law), as well as stronger local regulations to oversee post-mining funds (exit costs). Local governments were also encouraged to develop comprehensive roadmaps for a green economic transformation that no longer depends on coal extraction.
Through the momentum of Open Government Week, PWYP Indonesia and ICEL reaffirmed their commitment to advancing transparency in the extractive sector to ensure that Indonesia’s energy transition is inclusive, accountable, and places the protection of community rights and ecosystem sustainability at its core. (AN)