Jakarta, 24 September 2025 – President Prabowo emphasized Indonesia’s strong intention to become a global actor in addressing the climate and food crises. He delivered the statement during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, on Tuesday (23/9/2025). Prabowo spoke third, following Brazilian President Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The speech marked the return of an Indonesian president to the UN podium after 10 years. In his address, Prabowo claimed that Indonesia has achieved rice self-sufficiency. He also announced a commitment to reforest 12 million hectares of degraded land, build a 480-kilometer sea wall, and pursue net-zero emissions by 2060 or sooner.

However, several civil society organizations argue that the speech failed to address root problems and was contradictory to domestic realities. The speech also did not touch on climate justice issues faced by communities in their daily lives, such as farmers’ and fishers’ struggles with unpredictable weather and the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups.

Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show that rice field areas declined from 10.21 million hectares in 2023 to 10.05 million hectares in 2024. As a result, harvest production also fell, from 53.98 million tons in 2024 to 53.14 million tons in 2023.

In Jayapura and Merauke, average monthly rice prices have consistently increased, reaching Rp 18,000 per kilogram. This exceeds the government’s Highest Retail Price (HET), set at Rp 14,365/kg for medium rice and Rp 16,169/kg for premium rice.

“The reality is that rice fields are shrinking and domestic rice prices continue to soar,” said Jaya Darmawan, a researcher at CELIOS, during a media discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday (24/09).

Emission Reduction Targets Without Submitting Global Commitments

To date, Indonesia has not submitted its Second Nationally Determined Contribution (SNDC), even though the deadline ended on 20 September 2025. According to Nadia Hadad, Executive Director of Madani Berkelanjutan, the climate crisis cannot be resolved solely through technical solutions.

“Why does the perspective immediately jump to technical fixes without examining the root causes related to natural resource governance and biodiversity management?” Nadia asked. She explained that the climate crisis stems from injustice and inequality.

She referred to a 2024 CELIOS study showing that the wealth of the 50 richest people in Indonesia equals that of 50 million Indonesians. Moreover, 56% of the wealth of the 50 richest individuals comes from extractive sectors. “So who is actually benefiting from this economic growth?” she questioned.

Nadia stressed the need for a restorative economy—one that restores and regenerates the environment while strengthening social justice—rather than focusing solely on the 8% economic growth target, which could sacrifice forests and biodiversity.

She noted that before Prabowo’s speech, Brazilian President Lula da Silva urged developed countries to finance climate action. Brazil is pushing a financial mechanism requiring developed nations to pay developing countries to protect forests through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). Unlike Lula, Prabowo did not mention such initiatives.

“Reforestation is important, but preventing future deforestation is even more crucial. If we are not careful, ambitions for food and energy security could threaten the remaining forests,” Nadia said.

To tackle the climate crisis, real solutions include the early retirement of coal-fired power plants and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. “We must limit oil palm plantations to 18 million hectares. Food security based on cassava and corn must not threaten forests,” she added.

Renewable Energy Ambitions and Human Rights Inconsistencies

Saffanah Azzahra, a researcher at ICEL, warned that Indonesia’s renewable energy targets have regressed. The latest National Energy Policy (KEN) states that only 19–23% of the 2030 energy mix will come from renewables. Previously, the KEN targeted at least 23% renewable energy in the primary energy mix by 2025 and 31% by 2050. “The ambition is lower than before,” Saffa said.

“With fossil fuels projected to dominate 79% of the energy mix by 2030—50% from coal—the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to below 1.5°C is impossible to achieve,” she added. “We are heading toward 3–4°C warming.”

She also criticized the co-firing technology often claimed to reduce emissions from coal plants. Co-firing involves burning two different fuels simultaneously to reduce emissions. “According to Forest Watch Indonesia, supplying biomass for co-firing 52 coal plants, in line with PLN’s 2025 ambition, would result in 4.65 million hectares of deforestation,” she explained.

Jaya Darmawan added that coal production has continued to increase despite biomass co-firing. He suggested this may be linked to Indonesia exporting large volumes of wood pellets to Japan and South Korea. “We found a discrepancy of USD 153 million in wood pellet exports over the past 12 years between Indonesia’s export reports and Japan’s customs data. In economics, this is called illicit financing. Is there an illegal process being tolerated?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said Prabowo’s remarks on human rights appeared aligned with national politics at first glance. However, promises to uphold global peace are merely rhetorical if Indonesia does not ratify the Rome Statute and the Refugee Convention.

“If Indonesia is not part of the International Criminal Court (ICC), condemning genocide in Gaza means nothing—it is just empty words,” Usman said.

He also argued that genuine commitment to global peace should involve strengthening Indonesia’s participation in peacekeeping missions in conflict areas. “That makes more sense than involving the military in distributing Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), farming, or handling domestic security,” he added.

Usman emphasized the importance of aligning human rights commitments abroad with domestic policies, particularly amid plans to reform the police. The detention of several human rights activists and students following the August 2025 demonstrations, along with the cancellation of a joint fact-finding team into the incident, undermines Indonesia’s human rights commitments.

“What is the point of putting on lipstick abroad if human rights at home are ignored?” he concluded. Indonesia’s diplomacy on the international stage will only be meaningful if it aligns with commitments to climate justice, food justice, and respect for human rights domestically.