Jakarta – Amid Indonesia’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2060, coal production instead broke a record 836.1 million tons in 2024—double the 400-million-ton limit mandated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 22/2017 on the National Energy Plan (RUEN). This surge exacerbates deforestation, land conflicts, and an increasingly fragile economic dependence.
Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia released four in-depth study reports urging the restructuring of Indonesia’s coal sector within a just energy transition framework. The launch took place at a public discussion titled “Restructuring Indonesia’s Coal Sector within a Just Energy Transition Framework” held in South Jakarta on 27 November 2025. The event featured respondents from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Secretariat of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Indonesia, and the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI), as well as participants from government institutions, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector.
“These reports are a collaborative effort among various stakeholders to recommend improvements to coal-sector governance within Indonesia’s just energy transition framework. The recommendations span upstream coal production control policies, transparency and law enforcement measures, and long-term strategies for coal businesses to shift toward greener sectors,” said Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of PWYP Indonesia, in his opening remarks.
The four reports are titled:
- Opportunities and Challenges of Energy Transition for Coal Mining Businesses in Indonesia
- Transparency in Coal Production Quota Setting to Accelerate a Just Energy Transition in Indonesia
- Optimizing Coal Production Control in the Context of a Just Transition in Indonesia
- The Urgency of a Moratorium on Coal Mining Licenses for Safety and Sustainability
“These reports stem from different contexts and situations underlying each topic—such as why coal companies must view the energy transition as an opportunity and take part in the broader transition agenda; the importance of transparency in quota setting and production control; and the urgency of a moratorium following the enactment of the revised Mining Law (UU Minerba).
“These topics are critical and should be followed up by the government. We examine these four areas through the lens of a just energy transition,” he added.
Overall, the reports put forward short-, medium-, and long-term policy recommendations, including:
- Integrating a gradual and measurable coal production reduction target into the revised RUEN and the 2025–2029 RPJMN, aligned with climate-mitigation goals, to strengthen Indonesia’s credibility and positioning in implementing the Paris Agreement.
- Reforming the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) policy to meet domestic needs without driving production expansion.
- Halting coal-mine expansion and prioritizing renewable-energy development.
- Tightening the approval of RKAB (Work Plan and Budget) through comprehensive environmental-impact and fiscal-risk assessments.
- Integrating transparency principles into the RUEN revision, with clear, measurable, and publicly accessible coal-production reduction targets—also supporting Indonesia’s readiness for OECD membership, which requires high standards of transparency.
- Strengthening independent oversight of quota-setting processes through collaboration with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and civil society organizations to reduce corruption risks in coal production quotas.
- Advancing a more ambitious moratorium on coal mining.
- Strengthening and enforcing national coal production limits, including legal consequences, in line with the mandates of the National Energy Council (KEN) and RUEN.
- Conducting executive, legislative, and public reviews of problematic clauses granting mining priority to mass organizations, MSMEs, cooperatives, and universities.
- For coal companies: Evaluating short-term (0–5 years) diversification strategies, medium-term (5–10 years) pilot projects, and long-term (10–20 years) expansion into greener sectors.
- The government must prepare supporting policies, including national non-energy economic mapping, diversification incentives, post-mining workforce training, and local transition incubation programs.
The full reports containing complete recommendations can be downloaded at the following link to the dissemination materials.
Contact Persons:
- Ariyansah NK: aryansah@pwypindonesia.org
- Wicitra Diwasasri: wicitra@pwypindonesia.org