Several civil society organizations united in the Civil Society Coalition for Clean Energy presented various inputs on the Draft Law on New Energy and Renewable Energy (RUU EBET) to Commission XII of the DPR RI through a Public Hearing Meeting (RDPU) held at the Nusantara 1 Building, Central Jakarta, on December 1, 2025. In the meeting, the coalition emphasized that the EBET Bill should serve as a momentum to accelerate a just energy transition by placing the principles of accountability, transparency, and public participation as the primary foundation. This includes providing information openly, involving affected groups in decision-making, and establishing bottom-up monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
The coalition also stressed the importance of respecting, protecting, and fulfilling human rights in every energy policy. Energy development must not create new problems, including land grabs or weakening vulnerable groups. The energy transition must ensure protection for workers, affected communities, and groups that have historically experienced vulnerability, while applying non-discriminatory principles.
In that opportunity, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, which is part of the coalition, highlighted the need to explicitly include the principle of gender equality in Article 2 of the EBET Bill. The Head of the Research and Advocacy Division of PWYP Indonesia, Mouna Wasef, stated that gender inequality is part of historical injustices that must be addressed through regulation. She emphasized that incorporating the principle of gender equality is crucial to ensure that the interests of women and other vulnerable groups are not overlooked in the implementation of the energy transition. According to her, including this principle does not necessarily guarantee implementation, so if it is not included at all, the risk of neglect would be much greater.
In addition, the coalition encouraged the application of ecological justice principles based on a whole life-cycle approach to energy development, ensuring responsibility for environmental and social restoration. The coalition also emphasized the need for economic justice, including access, affordability, availability, and community-owned, democratic, and decentralized energy.
The coalition views that the EBET Bill should focus on renewable energy and not include new energy, given that several technologies categorized as new energy in the draft bill are still fossil-based, such as coal-derived products. This could prolong Indonesia’s dependence on fossil energy. Regarding nuclear energy, which is also included as a new energy source, the coalition argues that this technology should be a last resort and does not need to be regulated in the EBET Bill, as it already has its own legal framework.
In the same meeting, the coalition also provided recommendations on the Electricity Bill (Gatrik). They encouraged a more assertive policy direction in supporting a just energy transition, including replacing the term “clean energy” with “renewable energy” to avoid biased interpretations, setting priorities for the use of renewable energy in electricity planning, including a mandate for the gradual phase-out of fossil energy, and ensuring alignment of the bill with national climate targets.
On the same day, the coalition also conveyed similar recommendations to the Democratic Party Faction of the DPR RI. Two faction members, Hasani Bin Zuber and Andi Muzakkir Aqil, directly received the coalition’s representatives. The meeting became part of the coalition’s efforts to ensure that various principles of energy justice serve as the basis for formulating national energy policies, especially as Indonesia is in a critical phase of a cleaner, more sustainable energy transition.
Author: Ariyansyah N. Kiliu
Reviewer: Mouna Wasef