Jakarta – Several civil society organizations have urged members of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) for the 2024-2029 period, especially Commission XII, to seriously improve the governance of the energy, environment and natural resources (SDA) sector. Following the ratification of the new House Equipment (AKD), Commission XII now has a major responsibility to respond to the main challenges in the energy and mineral resources sector, the environment and investment being the scope of Commission XII.
Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, reminded members of Commission XII to optimize their performance through their legislative, supervisory and budgeting functions.
PWYP Indonesia assessed that the performance of the previous DPR period was still far from satisfactory, especially in overseeing the energy, environment and natural resources sectors. Therefore, the current DPR period must not repeat the same mistakes. The DPR’s functions must be carried out optimally and dare to make breakthroughs. “The DPR must be able to answer public expectations to not just be a mere government stamp,” he said.
Commission XII must be able to ensure that the government is able to answer the challenges of the climate crisis, the acceleration of a just energy transition, land and forest damage, and encourage green investment or economic growth that does not depend on the extractive sector.
Arif Adiputro, a researcher at the Indonesian Parliamentary Center (IPC), emphasized that Commission XII must ensure that aspects of transparency and participation are implemented properly in accordance with the Open Parliament principle stated in the DPR’s national action plan.
“Previously, in the discussion of legislation there were still closed meetings. In fact, it has been regulated in the Law on Public Information Disclosure (KIP) and in the technical regulations in the DPR’s rules of procedure, that meetings that are not related to the country’s defense strategy should be open to the public,” said Arif.
In the future, Arif reminded that discussions on draft laws be carried out openly. Including draft laws related to the field of Commission XII. “Such as the Draft Law (RUU) on New and Renewable Energy (EBET) and those related to climate justice. The DPR must really open up the discussion. Then regarding participation, the level of absorption of public aspirations is still minimal. For this reason, the DPR through Commission XII must truly prioritize ‘meaningful participation’ in all functions in the DPR,” he said.
Regarding the legislative function, Arif continued, currently, many targets of the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) related to energy and natural resources have not been completed. Such as the Oil and Gas (Migas) Bill and the EBET Bill. “This bill is very urgent in dealing with climate change and the need for a just energy transition. However, the current draft is still far from reflecting this spirit. There are still many ‘false solutions’ such as the use of Nuclear and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS/CCUS) that appear in the EBET Bill,” he said.
Syaharani, Plt. Head of the Environmental Governance and Climate Justice Division, Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), emphasized that the major task of Commission XII is to thoroughly review the substance of the EBET Bill so that it is in line with the spirit of a just energy transition.
“Currently, it seems that power wheeling is the central issue of the EBET Bill that has not been resolved. In fact, the problems of the EBET Bill are much broader. Starting from providing incentives for high-risk and carbon-intensive energy such as nuclear, coal gasification, liquefied coal, to the absence of discussion on efforts for a just energy transition in the draft regulation,” he said.
Civil society also reminded that the DPR’s oversight function is still weak, which has an impact on this strategic sector. The DPR must be more active in using the right of interpellation, the right of inquiry, and the right to express opinions. Commission XII needs to review the approval given to the Revision of the Government Regulation (PP) on the National Energy Policy (KEN) given by Commission VII in the previous period, as part of its oversight function.
“The proposed revision of the PP KEN should not have been approved. The draft regulation actually lowers the target for the renewable energy mix compared to PP Number 79 of 2014, only to 19-22% in 2030. At the same time, the projection for gas utilization has actually increased. This policy contradicts the global stocktake recommendation which emphasizes the acceleration of renewable energy development up to three times if we want to survive the climate disaster,” concluded Syaharani.
Another important thing that needs to be considered is the aspect of law enforcement in the energy and environmental sectors. Ambitious regulations without strong supervision and law enforcement will only be mere discourse.
“Supervision of law enforcement is important. Law enforcement of corruption cases, settlement of Illegal Mining (PETI), and environmental protection are things that can no longer be postponed,” he said.
Contact Person:
- Aryanto Nugroho: aryanto@pwypindonesia.org
- Arif Adiputro: arif.adiputro@gmail.com
- Syaharani: syaharani@icel.or.id