As an Indonesian civil society organization working in the fields of climate, the environment, human rights, and energy, we are deeply concerned about the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) initiative led by Japan under the GX (Green Transformation) Strategy, which is set to be implemented in Indonesia.
Although this initiative claims to be part of efforts toward carbon neutrality by creating broad partnerships to achieve that goal, we believe that it is nothing more than a greenwashing effort disguised as decarbonization. The AZEC initiative will actually further enrich corporations that have long reaped massive profits, while spreading “false solutions to climate change” in Indonesia, and will ultimately result in human rights violations against indigenous peoples and local communities. AZEC, which operates without meaningful participation from indigenous peoples, local communities, and Indonesian civil society groups, will hinder a rapid, just, and equitable energy transition.
We call on the governments of Japan and Indonesia to cancel the AZEC initiative, which prolongs the use of fossil fuels, employs false solutions that threaten environmental safety and communities, and leads to human rights violations. And we urge the governments of Japan and Indonesia to collaborate and support a rapid, just, and equitable decarbonization/energy transition in a manner that ensures meaningful participation by local communities and civil society groups in Indonesia.
Our call is based on the fact that AZEC will only cause problems for democracy, the environment, and communities in Indonesia, as this initiative lacks transparency, open access to information, and meaningful public participation; prolongs the use of fossil fuels; offers false solutions that threaten the safety of the environment and communities; may drive further land grabs and deforestation in Indonesia, and has the potential to create a debt trap.
For the petition in Indonesian, please click the following link:
https://walhi.or.id/uploads/blogs/Foto%20Rilis/Rilis/Petisi%20AZEC_Indo.pdf
For the English-language petition, please click the following link:
https://walhi.or.id/uploads/blogs/Foto%20Rilis/Rilis/AZEC%20Petition_ENGLISH.pdf
For the Japanese-language petition, please click the following link:
https://walhi.or.id/uploads/blogs/Foto%20Rilis/Rilis/AZEC%20Petition_JAPAN.pdf