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Presidential debate failed to tackle ESG issues in nickel mining
Critics say the three candidates for the post of vice president only scratched the surface of environmental and governance issues in Indonesia’s mineral-processing industry during Sunday’s debate.
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This aerial picture taken on May 14, 2023 shows a general view of PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), one of the biggest nickel producers in North Konawe, Central Sulawesi. (AFP/Riza Salman)
Critics say the most recent debate between the three candidates running for vice president in next month’s election only scratched the surface of environmental and governance issues in Indonesia’s mineral-processing industry.
Indonesia, which produces 37.9 percent of the world’s nickel, is moving up the nickel value chain by refining the material for use in steelmaking and battery manufacturing, but activists point to the environmental impacts of the downstream development drive.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy has seen the establishment of massive industrial parks, such as the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) project in Central Halmahera, North Maluku, to process nickel ore.
Greenpeace country director for Indonesia Leonard Simanjuntak said Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s defense of the downstream policy, by stressing the need to strike a balance between industrial development and environmental sustainability, was too “normative”.
“We need to push downstream industrial development but maintain a balance with the environment,” Gibran said during Sunday’s debate when talking about reducing the carbon footprint.
He expressed support for the carbon tax, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) policies the incumbent government is working on.
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