"Indonesia's renewable energy plans may put forests at risk" 15 December 2024

Environmentalists are warning that Indonesia's ambitious plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 rely too heavily on biofuels and risk a new wave of deforestation in the world's third-largest rainforest.

Heavily dependent on coal, Indonesia needs to transition away from fossil fuels and seeks to generate 75 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from renewable resources over the next 15 years, compared with 13 gigawatts today, said presidential envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo at the United Nations summit on climate change in Baku, Azerbaijan last month.

A cornerstone of this push is the use of cleaner-burning biofuels, in which organic material is turned into liquid fuel.

Biofuels will help Indonesia cut down on expensive fuel imports, reduce greenhouse gases and increase palm oil production, which in turn will spur economic growth, the government has said. While mostly intended for the transportation sector, biofuels are also used at diesel-powered plants.

But cultivating the palm trees and sugarcane needed to create biomass at scale for the biofuel industry requires transforming vast amounts of land into plantations, putting Indonesia's tropical rainforests at risk.

Forest Watch Indonesia estimates that deforestation could reach 4.56 million hectares in Indonesia in the next few years if the government aggressively mandates the use of biofuels across industries, including at power plants.

"New land is required to establish energy plantations to meet bioenergy needs," said Anggi Prayogo, a Forest Watch Indonesia researcher. Instead, "the government should push more investments to other renewables, like solar and wind, to reduce green house gases."

The country's forests are critical to slowing climate change. The UN estimates Indonesia's trees store nearly 300 billion tonnes of carbon. "The government must ensure that the use of palm oil for biofuels does not cause deforestation and environmental harm," said Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of think tank Centre for Economic and Law Studies, noting that increasing production could require the conversion of more land.

Cleaner fuel?

Indonesia is already the world's biggest producer of palm oil, a versatile vegetable oil used in food, cosmetics and fuel. Last year, the country produced 47 million tonnes, with more than 10 million tonnes going to biodiesel.

Palm oil production has long been linked to deforestation in Indonesia, with 3.3 million hectares of the country's 17 million hectares of palm plantations found in forests.

The government implemented a moratorium on new plantations in 2011. But some 52,000 hectares of forests were still turned into plantations in 2022 and 2023 alone, according to Nusantara Atlas, a group that tracks deforestation in Indonesia.

Designed as a substitute for dirty fossil fuels, biofuels release fewer carbons directly into the atmosphere. However, when emissions arising from changes in land use are also considered, most biofuels actually emit more carbon dioxide than petroleum, studies have shown.

Still, Indonesia has been ramping up biofuel production over the past decade and targets a 32 percent increase to 16 million kilolitres (kL) next year from 2023.

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The country also wants to increase production of bioethanol, which is derived from sugar cane, to mix with gasoline. The government has allocated about 2 million hectares of forestland in South Papua for sugar cane plantations to reduce sugar imports.

A 2021 report by Jakarta-based think tank Institute for Essential Services and Reform (IESR) projected potential demand for biofuels in Indonesia could reach 190 million oil tonnes equivalent by 2050.

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