Zacharias Wuragil, Jakarta – The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, concluded on November 21, 2025. As the agenda was nearing its end, the Indonesian government showed no signs of strengthening its climate commitment.
While more than 80 countries pushed for a framework in the Global Mutirao to a fossil fuel phase out roadmap, Indonesia's voice was notably absent. Indonesia did not participate in the efforts to push the Global Mutirao framework, which, according to the Tupi-Guarani language in South America, means "collective effort."
Among the 80 countries involved in drafting the roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, Colombia, Kenya, the UK, Germany, and small island states such as the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean were included.
Due to greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels are considered one of the main causes of the climate crisis. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, countries must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Coordinator of the People's Alliance for Climate Justice (Aruki) Torry Kuswardono pointed out that Indonesia's climate commitments and negotiations lag far behind those of small island states in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Indonesia even fell behind Colombia, a country that is actually more dependent on fossil fuels.
Compared with these countries, Torry criticized Indonesia for lacking a proposal to save the world from the climate crisis. "What came out of Indonesia was instead a proposal to save the carbon business domestically, which will only benefit a few people. This is truly disappointing," he said in a written statement from Belem on November 20, 2025.
Bimantara Adjie, a representative of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (HuMa), added that the Global Mutirao should have been the essence of the entire COP30 process. In Indonesia, the most tangible collective efforts have long been carried out by indigenous communities that own and manage millions of hectares of customary land and forests as the last line of defense for forest and biodiversity protection.
He regretted that the Indonesian government did not seem to be actively involved in pushing for several texts in the Fair Transition Work Program (JTWP) until the day before COP30 concluded. "Meanwhile, the JTWP has an impact on indigenous communities to strengthen ecosystem protection and address the impacts of global economic policies at the negotiation table, as Indigenous Peoples are the true on-site practitioners of Mutiro," he said.
Rayhan Dudayev, the Chair of the Global Greenpeace Forest Solutions Policy Team, also expressed regret that Indonesia's active participation in negotiating carbon offset schemes was not accompanied by a significant role in negotiating a phase-out of fossil fuels and halting deforestation. According to him, the government could at least involve civil society in jointly pushing for real climate action in the negotiation spaces.
The Indonesian delegation at COP30 was led by the President's Special Envoy for Climate Change and Energy, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, accompanied by the Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq. On the opening day of COP30, Hashim stated that Indonesia came to COP30 not only with commitments but also with real actions. He said that Indonesia would actively contribute to the protection of tropical forests, the transition to clean energy, and the strengthening of carbon economics to make the Earth more resilient.
Hanif also emphasized this commitment during a meeting with civil society representatives in Belem last week. However, the Indonesian government's commitment has not been clearly evident in the collective efforts to stop the current use of fossil fuels.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2067846/indonesia-absent-from-push-for-a-collective-effort-at-cop3