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Concerts, carbon and climate: How Indonesia's music boom might fuel the crisis
Indonesia's thriving music scene presents an opportunity for the country to take a lead in setting sustainability standards for major cultural events, including carbon emissions generated from air travel by both performers and attendees.
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Hot favorite: Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin performs during a concert at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, on Nov. 15, 2023. The Jakarta stop was part of the British band’s Music of the Spheres Tour 2023. (Antara/M Risyal Hidayat)
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ndonesia’s music scene is booming, with high-profile concerts like Bruno Mars’ recent shows in Jakarta drawing thousands of fans from inside and outside the country.
These large-scale events are not only cultural milestones but also economic catalysts, generating substantial revenue for local businesses. However, they come with a significant environmental cost that is often overlooked.
High-profile concerts, especially those featuring international superstars, contribute heavily to carbon emissions. One of the most notable sources is the use of private jets. Studies show that private jet emissions can be up to 40 times higher than those of commercial flights per passenger, exacerbating the carbon footprint associated with global tours.
Taylor Swift, a global pop icon with a massive fan base around the world, including in Indonesia, exemplifies how celebrity air travel can intensify environmental concerns. In early 2024, she flew her private jet 5,000 miles (8,046 kilometers) from Tokyo to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, fueling a worldwide conversation about the environmental impacts of private jets.
Her plane was one of 882 private jets that landed in Las Vegas for the event, contributing to significant carbon emissions. In the first seven months of 2022, Swift’s private jet emissions totaled 8,293 tonnes, more than 3,300 times the estimated average of Indonesians’ annual emissions of 2.5 tonnes. This stark contrast highlights the outsized impact of celebrity travel on the environment.
The environmental impact of global concerts extends beyond celebrity travel. Swift's concert in Singapore earlier this year also saw fans traveling from neighboring countries, including Indonesia.
During an event on June 24 to launch a digitalized event licensing service to expedite the process, then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in his speech that nearly half of the 360,000 attendees at Swift’s Singapore concert were likely to be Indonesian, further amplifying the environmental impact of large-scale fan travel.
