JURNALTODAY.CO, NATIONAL – Civil society organizations under the Civil Society Coalition for Clean Energy have voiced criticism and recommendations regarding the preparation of the National Energy General Plan (RUEN), which is currently underway.
The concerns were raised during a media discussion titled “Forest Fires, Pollution, Power Outages: What Is RUEN’s Answer?”, held on Jl. Pegangsaan Barat, Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).
The civil society representatives participating as speakers were Maulida Zahra, Head of the Environmental Governance and Pollution Control Division at ICEL; Beyrra Triasdian, Renewable Energy Campaigner at Trend Asia; Rina Prasarani, Chairperson of Advocacy and Awareness Raising at HWDI; and Ariyansah NK, Researcher at PWYP Indonesia. Also attending was Mohammad Fadhil Hasan, a member of the National Energy Council (DEN). The discussion was moderated by IPC Researcher Arif Adiputro.
Maulida Zahra, Head of the Environmental Governance and Pollution Control Division at ICEL, emphasized that there are still strong reasons for Indonesia to pursue an energy transition. The energy sector contributes 26% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while in Indonesia, the energy sector is the largest contributor to GHG emissions, particularly through electricity generation at 43%, transportation at 25%, and industry at 23%—all of which remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
She also highlighted the inconsistency between RUEN targets and the regulation of new coal-fired power plants. This is despite policies such as the National Energy Policy (KEN), Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2022, the 2025 National Electricity General Plan (RUKN), and Ministerial Regulations of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, which prohibit the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
“Coal-fired power plants contribute to air pollution and public health impacts, causing around 6,500 premature deaths annually. If coal-fired power plants are gradually phased out by 2040, this could prevent 182,000 deaths caused by air pollution and save Rp1.9 quadrillion in public healthcare costs,” Maulida said.
Maulida further explained that RUEN serves as a reference for development planning and will influence policies at lower levels. Therefore, RUEN must be aligned with the policy direction to halt the development of new coal-fired power plants.
The coalition also stressed that the preparation of RUEN must be firmly contextualized within the increasingly severe climate crisis and its impacts in Indonesia. National energy policy must therefore serve as an instrument to reduce emissions, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and ensure that the energy transition does not create new ecological damage or inequalities.
The civil society representatives argued that the expansion of natural resource exploitation in the energy sector is placing increasing pressure on spatial planning and the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, ecosystem degradation, and conflicts over people’s living spaces are becoming increasingly acute, demonstrating that energy policy can no longer focus solely on meeting energy demand and pursuing economic growth.
RUEN must address these challenges, including by correcting an energy development model that has long relied on natural resource exploitation and generated significant social and ecological costs. RUEN must not only adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis but also substantially strengthen the energy sector’s contribution to emissions reduction.
This need is increasingly urgent because the current energy system and resource extraction activities have also left serious social and ecological problems. Post-mining environmental rehabilitation obligations have not been fully implemented. Thousands of abandoned mine pits remain unreclaimed, some of which have resulted in fatalities, while mining activities continue to trigger land conflicts and disputes over communities’ living spaces.
The urgency of integrating energy governance with fair spatial and land governance is therefore becoming increasingly evident. RUEN can no longer focus solely on what energy sources should be used and how energy demand should be met to achieve the targets of the National Energy Policy (KEN). It must also address land and spatial use, impacts on the environment and communities, and who bears the ecological costs of energy development.
PWYP Indonesia Researcher Ariyansah NK emphasized that the target of 45.2 GW of new and renewable energy (EBT) capacity by 2025 resulted in only 14.08 GW being realized—far below half of the target. Meanwhile, the commitment to end fuel imports by 2025 was also not achieved, with imports still reaching 28.89 million kiloliters, or 34.15% of total national fuel demand. Similar shortcomings were also evident in coal-related targets.
These failures indicate that although DEN members have committed to developing renewable energy as a solution to dependence on fossil fuels, Indonesia remains heavily reliant on fossil energy in practice. This indicates that DEN’s position and role have not been sufficiently robust in effectively overseeing RUEN implementation.
“This represents a failure of the previous DEN. DEN’s role in overseeing RUEN was not strong enough. This must become a note and an evaluation for the future,” Ariyansah said.
On coal, Ariyansah urged RUEN to retain provisions on a moratorium on Mining Business Licenses (IUP) and Special Mining Business Licenses (IUPK) in primary natural forests and peatlands located within conservation areas, protected forests, production forests, and other designated land-use areas.
He also stressed that coal production limits must not legitimize the national overproduction that has occurred in recent years, exceeding the levels stipulated in RUEN.
It is worth noting that coal contributes 51% of CO₂ emissions. Beyond CO₂, Indonesia’s high coal production also contributes to an increase in methane (CH₄), another type of greenhouse gas.
In 2024, emissions associated with coal mine development were potentially eight times higher than the official data reported by the Indonesian government (PWYP Indonesia, 2026).
“The moratorium must remain in RUEN. It must also be accompanied by environmental restoration efforts. Coal mining must take spatial planning and land governance into account. In practice, it must not be allowed to take away people’s living spaces, drive deforestation, or cause environmental destruction, all of which fundamentally contradict the climate mitigation agenda. Furthermore, the national coal production target stipulated in the current RUEN, namely 400 million tonnes, remains relevant. National production targets set by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources should follow or refer to the 400-million-tonne figure. However, actual production does not reflect this,” he said.
In terms of public participation, the preparation of RUEN 2026–2035 has yet to involve groups directly affected by mining, power plants, industrial areas, land conflicts, and environmental degradation resulting from energy development.
Beyrra Triasdian, Renewable Energy Campaigner at Trend Asia, stated that the available public consultation spaces were not yet sufficiently open, accessible, or inclusive to ensure that people’s voices could genuinely influence the substance of the policy.
Furthermore, RUEN is considered to be overly focused on lists of power plant projects and energy development activities rather than building a just energy transition.
“The revision of RUEN is taking place very quickly, behind closed doors, and with minimal meaningful participation from communities that have long borne the impacts of an extractive energy development model. RUEN should establish clear quantitative targets for each type of energy while ensuring that its policy direction does not repeat old patterns that damage people’s living spaces and disregard experiences at the local level. Amid an increasingly evident climate crisis, RUEN must not stop at an approach based on regional potential. It must accelerate the transition toward a just renewable energy system, establish a roadmap for fossil fuel retirement, and close the door to false solutions packaged as low-carbon technologies,” Beyrra explained.
RUEN 2026–2035 has also yet to position the principles of Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) as an important part of its formulation process. Rina Prasarani, Chairperson of Advocacy and Awareness Raising at HWDI, explained that persons with disabilities are often positioned merely as policy objects and beneficiaries, despite being active energy users with needs, experiences, and perspectives that are important in shaping the direction of national energy policy.
“RUEN must fully apply GEDSI principles—not merely in terms of equal physical access, but also by ensuring that persons with disabilities are meaningfully involved and included in social protection mechanisms, from the Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) stage through to evaluation,” Rina said.
The National Energy Council (DEN) encouraged meaningful participation from all stakeholders and called on the public to proactively submit their input rather than waiting to be invited, given that the process must be completed by October 2026 at the latest, in accordance with Government Regulation No. 40 of 2025.
Regarding the continued shortfall in renewable energy targets, DEN cited internal and external dynamics affecting implementation, noting that under normal conditions renewable energy remains more expensive than conventional energy.
DEN also emphasized that as long as conventional energy continues to receive subsidies, accelerating the transition to renewable energy will be difficult to achieve optimally.
“Under normal conditions, renewable energy is more expensive than conventional energy. If we move too quickly, accessibility may be achieved, but affordability may not necessarily follow. We cannot do both at the same time—promote renewable energy while continuing to subsidize conventional energy,” Fadhil said. (**)
Sumber: Jurnal Today