Jakarta – Young people in Indonesia are planning to hold simultaneous actions in a number of cities in Indonesia to urge presidential candidates to have a serious commitment to tackling the climate crisis and energy transition. The movement of various youth organisations is Power Up, part of an international civil society movement that encourages political elites to abandon fossil fuels and switch to community-based renewable energy.
Fuelled by concerns over the lack of commitment from the presidential candidates to addressing the climate crisis and energy transition, the youth felt that political elites were more concerned about their personal interests than the people’s interests.
The coordinator of Climate Rangers Jakarta, Ginanjar Ariyasuta, revealed that none of the presidential candidates are firmly committed to handling the climate crisis and energy transition.
“Young people are getting fed up with the behaviour of elites who talk about their interests but are uprooted from the roots of people’s problems,” he said in a media briefing on the ‘Power Up Indonesia Movement: Young People Demand Climate Commitment from Presidential Candidates’, Thursday, 19 October.
The Power Up movement, according to Ginanjar, is part of an international civil society movement that urges political elites to make serious policies to abandon fossil fuels and switch to community-based renewable energy. The reluctance of political elites to commit more seriously to tackling the climate crisis and energy transition is closely linked to the flow of campaign funds from the fossil industry (oil, gas and coal).
Chairman of the University of Indonesia (UI) student council, Melki Sedek Huang, said that the voice of the younger generation will be very significant, especially in the 2024 elections. “It is observed that approximately 52% of the total decisive votes will belong to young people. So the 2024 elections should be the gateway to realising the dreams of the decisive voices, including those on environmental aspects,” said Huang. (Hartatik)
Banner photo: General elections in Aceh, 17 April 2019. herims/shutterstock.com
