Leila Fadel, TV presenter:
Indonesia, the world's third largest democracy, goes to the polls tomorrow. As NPR's Julia Simon reports, this presidential election poses significant potential climate risks.
JULIA SIMON, BYLINE: Southeast Asia's largest country has gone in the wrong direction in recent years when it comes to pollution caused by a warming planet. The reason is mainly...
Putra Adhijuna: Nickel is one of Indonesia's most valuable commodities.
SIMON: This is Putra Adhijona, director of the Energy Transition Institute. Indonesia is the world's largest producer of nickel, a key metal for making steel and, increasingly, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. The problem is that Indonesia powers most of its growing nickel processing industry with new coal-fired power plants. This comes at a time when much of the world is moving away from coal, says Lucy Hammer of Global Energy Monitor.
Lucy Hammer: Indonesia will lead only China in terms of burning coal power in 2023.
SIMON: Experts are concerned that the presidential candidate, in particular, could continue the trend of increasing new coal production. His name is Prabowo Subianto. The current Minister of Defense and the pioneer has a dark past. He is the former head of a special unit implicated in many suspected human rights violations. He owns a coal and power company. Adejuna says Prabowo wants to expand the coal-nickel industry.
Adhijuna: It is clear that Prabowo intends to continue nickel processing.
SIMON: Adhiona noted that other candidates, especially Anies Baswedan, have spoken about the need to improve the environmental impact of the nickel industry. As for Prabowo's policy proposals, the climate issue is not limited to coal-fired power plants. Prabowo chose a project to build several farms to achieve food security. But the program has led to deforestation, says Fabi Tomiwa, executive director of the Institute for Basic Services Reform.
Fabi Tomiwa: We know this is a big problem in Indonesia. We know that deforestation is happening in Central Kalimantan and Papua.
SIMON: Prabowo specializes in bioenergy, using plants to produce fuel. But growing many crops, such as palm oil, for bioenergy can also lead to deforestation. New polls show that young people in Indonesia are very concerned about climate change. Experts worry that neither candidate will offer enough policy solutions to meet the country's climate goals.
Julia Simon, NPR News.
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