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Environmental watchdogs rally against biofuel suppliers in S. Sumatra
NGOs are rallying against a number of B20 diesel fuel suppliers of state-owned energy giant Pertamina, whose rap sheet allegedly includes land clearing and triggering forest fires to make room for oil palm plantations in the region
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Then-agriculture minister Andi Amran Sulaeman fills a tractor with B100 biodiesel during the launch of a fuel-use trial for vehicles operated by the Agriculture Ministry in April 2019. (JP/ark)
S
everal environmental watchdogs in South Sumatra have kick-started yet another campaign aimed at raising public awareness on eco-friendly biofuel use amid concerns over palm oil companies’ cavalier attitude toward the environment.
The Clean Biofuel for All civil coalition is among the NGOs that are rallying against a number of B20 diesel fuel suppliers of state-owned energy giant Pertamina, whose rap sheet allegedly includes land clearing and triggering forest fires to make room for oil palm plantations in the region.
“We are currently monitoring the implementation of the B20 and B100 biofuel use policy, as well as improving public understanding of the biofuel supply chain,” said Afek, a representative of the Clean Biofuel for All coalition on the sidelines of a campaign in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Dec. 13.
Data from the coalition and the South Sumatra Green Circle Collective show that the forest fires that occurred throughout the year were the worst in the region since 2015. As of September, 361,857 hectares of land across the province were razed by forest fires, according to the South Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
Green Circle Collective researcher Hadi Jatmiko called on the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to investigate the 10 palm oil companies that had been named the country’s primary suppliers of biodiesel. Five of said companies had yet to adhere to the No Deforestation, No Peat Development, and Exploitation (NDPE) policy, he said.
“Pertamina needs to come up with an environmental policy that prohibits biodiesel purchases from palm oil companies that are complicit in forest fires,” Hadi said.
Hadi, who had previously served as the director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in South Sumatra from 2013 to 2017, said the five companies were foreign firms that had been named as suspects in a 2015 forest fire case, as well as enterprises that were shut down by the Environment and Forestry Ministry earlier this year.
