Defara Dhanya, Jakarta – The Indonesian peatland and environment watchdog Pantau Gambut's Research Manager, Muhammad Syafiq Gumilang, doubts the country's approach to advance simultaneously emissions reduction, economic growth, and social improvements. The goals are laid out in Indonesia's Second NDC or Second Nationally Determined Contribution document.
"While economic talks are maintained, conservation or emission interests also move forward. That's how it appears to be," he said in a discussion held in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.
According to Syafiq, economic growth follows a pattern of endless profit-seeking that extracts and exploits natural resources and agrarian labor. This pattern, he said, is evident in the Second NDC Climate plan document.
"In that document, everything is based on the logic of maximum profit," he said.
Current economic growth also no longer relates to how much surplus returns to the people, but rather is controlled by market value. These revenues, he suspects, enter the pockets of elites and major corporations that have power over large-scale land within the country.
Syafiq is pessimistic that economic, social, and environmental aspects can be advanced simultaneously. Economic growth also generally correlates with increased energy consumption and emission spikes.
"Economic growth means consuming more energy and emitting more," said Syafiq.
Every five years, signatories to the Paris Agreement are required to submit new national climate plans. These documents usually contain each country's numerical targets for emission reduction. Some NDCs also include measures to adapt to the climate crisis.
After a delay, Indonesia submitted the Second NDC for the 2031-2035 period in October 2025, a few weeks before the hosting of the COP30 Climate Change Conference in Brazil.
Tempo article titled "Ketika Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Jadi Panglima Menurunkan Emisi" (When Economic Growth Steers Emissions Reduction) explains that Indonesia no longer uses emission reduction targets from the business-as-usual scenario in the form of a percentage, but directly mentions the total greenhouse gas emissions targeted for 2035.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2067303/environment-watchdog-cast-doubts-in-indonesias-second-climate-nd