Jakarta — A civil society group has raised concerns over the government’s newly established Energy Transition Acceleration Task Force, warning that the body could centralise decision-making and limit public participation in shaping Indonesia’s energy transition.
Firdaus Cahyadi, Program Officer for Natural Resources and Climate Justice at Yayasan Tifa, on Friday, March 7, said the move reflects what he described as a “Prabowo-centric” approach to energy governance.
President Prabowo Subianto recently appointed Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia to lead the task force, which is expected to accelerate the country’s shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
“This step highlights a top-down approach that risks entrenching elite dominance in the national energy governance structure,” Firdaus said. “It reinforces the trend of policy centralisation while limiting meaningful public participation.”
According to Firdaus, the ad-hoc nature of the task force may bypass established bureaucratic procedures in the name of speed, potentially narrowing opportunities for public input in key policy decisions.
“Energy transition policies should be discussed openly in the public sphere. Instead, they risk being decided in a manner resembling military command,” he said.
Firdaus also emphasised that the energy transition should not be viewed solely as a technological shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Large-scale renewable energy development, he noted, can also carry social and ecological risks if implemented without safeguards.
“We cannot claim to be undergoing a transition if old patterns of exploiting nature and sidelining local communities continue in the pursuit of economic growth,” he said.
Beyond concerns about participation, Firdaus warned that the new task force could create institutional overlap with existing ministries and agencies responsible for energy policy.
“An exclusive structure within the inner circle of power is vulnerable to rent-seeking by political and business elites shifting from coal to renewable energy,” he said. “Good energy policy should not normalise the potential for conflicts of interest.”
He called on the government to disclose the task force’s structure, membership, and working mechanisms to ensure transparency and public oversight.
“Without transparency, the energy transition task force risks normalising conflicts of interest in energy policymaking,” Firdaus said. “The transition should not only focus on technology and capital, but also on distributive, procedural, and recognition justice for affected communities.”
Firdaus added that the government should prioritise decentralised energy systems that empower local communities to participate in and benefit from the transition.
“A genuine energy transition should not only aim for decarbonisation, but also create space for community-based energy sovereignty,” he said.
Indonesia has pledged to accelerate its energy transition while reducing dependence on coal, which still dominates the country’s power mix. The government has been promoting large-scale renewable energy projects, including solar power expansion and early retirement of coal-fired power plants, as part of its broader climate and energy strategy.
However, civil society groups have repeatedly warned that energy transition policies must incorporate safeguards for environmental protection, local livelihoods, and inclusive decision-making to avoid replicating the social and ecological impacts associated with fossil fuel development. (nsh)
Banner photo: Image generated by OpenAI’s DALL·E via ChatGPT (2024)
