Jakarta – The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) has asserted in its latest report that Indonesia needs a coordinated and equitable low-emission transport strategy to achieve its net-zero emission (NZE) target by 2060, or even earlier.
The Indonesia Sustainable Mobility Outlook (ISMO) 2025 report, launched on Monday, July 14, encourages the government to immediately improve the national transport system, which is considered environmentally unfriendly, wasteful of energy, and has the potential to widen inequality in people’s access to proper mobility.
Fabby Tumiwa, Executive Director of IESR, stated that the transport sector generated approximately 202 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2024, accounting for about a quarter of the total energy sector emissions. He said that without serious intervention, emissions from this sector are expected to triple by 2060.
“Without a clear direction and a strong transition strategy, the growth of the transport sector will actually increase the burden on the national economy, exacerbate congestion, increase fuel imports, and worsen the air pollution crisis in big cities,” Fabby said.
He also added that with a projected doubling of per capita mileage by 2050, the current transport system will become a huge fiscal and public health burden if not transformed immediately.
The ISMO 2025 report proposes an integrative approach based on the Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI) principle, which is believed to drastically reduce transport emissions. This approach combines reducing travel demand, shifting to low-emission modes of transport, and improving vehicle technology and efficiency. In IESR’s projection, if this strategy is implemented consistently, carbon emissions from the transport sector can be reduced by 76 per cent by 2060, from 561 million tonnes to 117 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Of that total, 24 per cent of the remaining emissions still come from the freight transport sector, which has not been touched much in this study.
Ilham R.F. Surya, IESR’s environmental policy analyst, stated that the majority of the transport sector’s emissions originate from road transport, with the primary contributions coming from private cars, motorcycles, and freight transport. He referred to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) 2023, which showed that the majority of motorbike users chose the mode because it was considered faster and more flexible, while private car users prioritised comfort. This phenomenon, according to Ilham, is further exacerbated by the increase in people’s income, which encourages an increase in private vehicle ownership instead of switching to public transport.
ISMO 2025 also highlights various government efforts that need to be strengthened, such as the development of a more equitable public transport network outside Java, improving the quality of mass transportation services through the Buy The Service (BTS) scheme, and more integrated urban planning so that people’s travel distances can be significantly reduced. Electric vehicle adoption is also cited as an important part of the decarbonisation strategy, but IESR emphasises that electrification alone is not enough without systemic reforms to travel management and public mobility accessibility.
Faris Adnan Padhilah, IESR’s Energy Demand Management Research Coordinator, explained that ASI’s strategy has the potential to reduce peak transport emissions in 2030 from 201 million tonnes to 164 million tonnes, a reduction of approximately 18 per cent. According to Faris, a combination of solid policies, such as implementing the odd-even license plate system, developing public transport in secondary cities, and incentivising electric vehicles and low-emission fuels, will accelerate the transformation of the national transport system into a more equitable, efficient, and low-carbon one.
Fabby reiterated that the success of this strategy depends on the central government’s political will and strong policy commitment. “If Indonesia really wants to realise 8 per cent economic growth as President Prabowo wants, then sustainable transport must be part of the national development architecture, not just a complement,” he said. (Hartatik)
Banner photo: Electric bus in Jakarta. May 15, 2022. tanahair.net/nsh
