JAKARTA, September 24, 2025 – President Prabowo emphasized Indonesia's strong desire to become a global actor in tackling climate and food crises. He delivered these remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, on Tuesday (23/09/2025). Prabowo spoke third in line, following Brazilian President Lula da Silva and United States President Donald Trump.

The address marked the return of an Indonesian President speaking at the forum after 10 years. In his speech, Prabowo claimed that Indonesia had achieved rice self-sufficiency. He also stated a commitment to reforest 12 million hectares of degraded land, construct a 480-kilometer sea wall, and pursue a net-zero emission ambition by 2060 or sooner.

However, several civil society organizations assessed that the speech failed to address the root causes and contradicted domestic conditions. The address also did not touch upon climate justice issues faced by communities in their daily lives, such as the struggles of farmers and fishers dealing with unpredictable weather and the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) shows that rice field area in Indonesia decreased from 10.21 million hectares in 2023 to 10.05 million hectares in 2024. Consequently, harvests also fell from 53.98 million tons in 2024 to 53.14 million in 2023.

In Jayapura and Merauke, monthly average rice prices have steadily increased, even touching Rp 18,000 per kilogram. This figure exceeds the Highest Retail Price (HET), both for medium rice up to Rp 14,365/kg and premium rice up to Rp 16,169/kg.

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

Target to Reduce Emissions, Yet Global Commitment Not Yet Submitted

As of today, Indonesia has not submitted its Second Nationally Determined Contribution (SNDC), despite the deadline expiring on September 20, 2025. According to Nadia Hadad, Executive Director of Madani Berkelanjutan, the climate crisis cannot be resolved merely through technical solutions.

"Why does the perspective jump straight to technical solutions without examining the root cause of resource management and biodiversity?" said Nadia. Nadia explained that the root of the climate crisis stems from injustice and inequality.

She referenced a 2024 CELIOS research project stating that the wealth of the 50 richest people in Indonesia is equivalent to the wealth of 50 million Indonesians. Furthermore, 56% of the wealth of those 50 richest individuals derives from the extractive sector. "So who is actually enjoying these economic yields?" she questioned.

Nadia stressed the need for a restorative economy that restores and regenerates the environment while strengthening social justice, rather than focusing solely on an 8% economic growth target that risks sacrificing forests and biodiversity.

She highlighted that before Prabowo took the podium, Brazilian President Lula da Silva had asked developed nations to fund the climate crisis. Brazil is pushing a financial mechanism for developed nations to pay developing countries to preserve their forests through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). Unlike Lula, however, Prabowo made no mention of these initiatives. "Reforestation is important, but preventing future deforestation is even more critical. If we are not careful, food and energy security ambitions could threaten the remaining forests we have left," Nadia said.

To tackle the climate crisis, concrete solutions include the early retirement of coal-fired power plants (PLTU) and exiting fossil fuel dependency. "We must limit oil palm plantations to 18 million hectares. Food security from cassava and corn must not threaten the existence of forests," Nadia added.

Inconsistent Renewable Energy Ambitions and Human Rights

Saffanah Azzahra, a researcher from ICEL, cautioned that Indonesia's renewable energy mix target has actually backtracked. The latest National Energy Policy (KEN) sets the renewable energy target at only 19–23% by 2030. In contrast, the previous KEN targeted new and renewable energy to account for at least 23% of the primary energy mix by 2025 and 31% by 2050. "The ambition is lower than before," Saffa said.

"With fossil fuels dominating 79% of the mix by 2030—50% of which comes from coal—achieving the Paris Agreement target of keeping temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius is impossible," she noted.

"We are instead heading toward a 3–4 degree Celsius warming scenario."

She also highlighted co-firing technology, which is often cited as a way to reduce emissions from coal plants. Co-firing involves burning two different fuel types simultaneously in a single system to reduce generated emissions. "Based on data from Forest Watch Indonesia, supplying co-firing fuel for 52 PLTUs, as targeted by PLN for 2025, creates 4.65 million hectares of deforestation," she explained.

Jaya Darmawan added that coal production figures continued to rise even as biomass co-firing was implemented. He hypothesized this was due to Indonesia exporting large amounts of wood pellets (wood chips) to Japan and Korea. "We found an export discrepancy of USD 153 million over the last 12 years between Indonesian export reports and Japanese customs reports. In economics, this is called illicit financing. Are illegal practices being allowed to pass?" he asked.

At the same event, Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, assessed that Prabowo's speech regarding human rights seemed aligned with national politics at first glance. However, promises to maintain world peace remain mere rhetoric if Indonesia fails to ratify the Rome Statute and the Refugee Convention.

"If Indonesia is not part of the International Criminal Court (ICC), condemnations of genocide in Gaza mean nothing at all; they are just empty talk," Usman stated.

He further explained that committing to world peace should involve strengthening Indonesia's participation in peacekeeping missions in conflict regions. "That role makes much more sense than having soldiers involved in distributing Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), farming, or handling domestic security," he noted.

Usman emphasized the importance of aligning human rights commitments with domestic policies, particularly regarding recent developments such as the planned police reform. The detention of several human rights activists and students following demonstrations in August 2025, along with the cancellation of the joint fact-finding team for that tragedy, harms human rights commitments.

"What is the point of putting on lipstick abroad if human rights at home are ignored?" he concluded. Indonesian diplomacy on the international stage is only meaningful if it aligns with domestic commitments to climate justice, food justice, and respect for human rights.