Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP Indonesia) as a resource person in the event as part of the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s people-centred clean energy transitions webinar series, which explores key issues in social dialogue and citizen engagement as part of decision-making processes.
Engaging people as active participants should be an integral part of designing successful clean energy policies to build public support, incorporate local perspectives, invite innovative ideas from diverse stakeholders, and help create plans that are sustainable, culturally appropriate and feasible to implement.
This webinar explored the following questions how can involve citizens come to a shared understanding of climate change related problems and solutions? How can a citizen engagement process on climate change be designed to ensure it delivers substantive and actionable recommendations/outcomes? How can citizen engagement processes be designed so that the voices of those who traditionally do not take part in participatory processes are also represented?
Also joined several expert were Graham Smith, Chair, Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA); Art O’Leary, Secretary General, Electoral Commission of Ireland & Secretary to the Citizens’ Assemblies on Biodiversity Loss; Shirley Dawe, Executive Director, Crown-Indigenous Consultation Coordination/Nòkwewashk, Natural Resources Canada; Yeonji Kim, President, 1.5°C Plan Lab & Former Director, Citizen’s Energy Cooperation Division, Seoul Metropolitan Government; Asma Rouabhia & David Arinze, Global Focal Points, SDG7 Youth Constituency.
Aryanto started with the context of latest G20 Presidency. As one of the result, the Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) and the Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting (ETMM) reach an agreement to endorse Bali Compact (Common Principles in Accelerating Clean Energy Transition (Bali COMPACT – the basic principles that serve as a foundation and reference for all G20 members in carrying out their respective national energy transition plans.)
“The basic question is to what extent, civil society, especially communities, most of which are located in remote areas, could be involved in making policy decisions, implementing as well as monitoring and evaluating the energy transition process, so that it truly of a just energy transition” said Aryanto.
Reflecting in the Indonesia’s experience, the issue of the energy transition, including what was discussed and the results of the last G20 meeting, has become quite a public discourse. However, this discourse is still at the upper or middle-class level, in big cities, but does not become an issue at the local or grassroots level. In fact, communities at the site level, including women, children, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups, are the groups most affected by this energy transition process.
In Indonesia, regarding to the policy-making process, space for civil society, especially communities (including local governments) is still very limited. For example, a number of laws in the Energy and Natural Resources sector, for example the Mining and Coal Law, the Omnibus Law, and the Renewable Energy Bill have always been controversial in terms of transparency and participation aspects.
Although the Government has claimed conducted public consultations, provided an online complaint-handling mechanism. However, again, affected communities who are in remote areas, do not have access to participate
Aryanto said, “In our perspective, the definition of good governance, namely transparency, accountability and participation must be linked to the rights of citizens. Transparency to ensure the right to know, accountability to ensure the right to claim and participation to ensure the right to be involved. So that the government provides information through websites or other channels, it does not mean that citizens’ rights to know have been fulfilled, when the affected community couldn’t access it”
Aryanto also shared PWYP Indonesia’s “Engaging Communities in a Just Transition through EITI Implementation Program” which aims to see the impact that occurs at the regional level (province and district) to the community level from the implementation of the energy transition, especially in areas that have extractive potential and activities on natural resources at the local level. Worked in North Morowali Regency which are known to have the largest nickel content in Indonesia and have started the activities of the battery manufacturing industry for the implementation of automotive, electric current storage and energy storage for residential and industrial needs.