Climate governance plays a crucial role in influencing environmental actions and outcomes. Historically, Indonesia’s environmental governance followed a top-down approach, often delaying the translation of national policies to the local level.
Indonesia’s decentralised system began with the 1998 reform agenda following President Suharto’s resignation.
This ‘big bang’ reform introduced a democratic multiparty system, granting local governments, especially municipal and regency governments, greater political power, administrative authority and local budget discretion.
However, Indonesia’s decentralisation is still incomplete, varies significantly among regions and is coupled with a strong top-down tendency.
This report evaluates Indonesia’s post-reform climate governance, focusing on how its structures can better align climate action with national goals.
Through extensive literature reviews, in-depth stakeholder consultations and policy mapping, Climateworks Centre provides an agenda for improved climate governance at the local level.
We conclude that Indonesia would benefit from a guided bottom-up approach to climate governance: central government authorities set clear goals and boundaries, and local governments take on climate initiatives and actualise them in support of national goals.
We also found that non-state actors are critical in substantiating local action. To scale up their impact, non-state actors can engage with the Ministry of Home Affairs and liaise with technical ministries. Emphasising the co-benefits of climate action, such as economic development and increased tax revenue, could better motivate local government.
Lastly, climate leadership at the central and local levels is crucial to maximise local potential. Non-state actors can foster and enhance this leadership, particularly in regions with weak incentives.
Below, we outline priority actions for non-state actors to improve Indonesia’s climate governance:
- Encourage the central government and parliament to legislate a climate change law to embed climate issues in development policies
- Encourage the central government to clarify authority and tasks within climate institutions (e.g. energy sector authorities with Regional Energy Plan, fiscal decentralisation reform)
- Support the central government in translating climate commitments to the local level (e.g. translating climate modelling in the Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon and Climate Resilience 2050 and national climate targets in the nationally determined contribution locally)
- Support the central government in developing technical guidance for climate action and providing necessary capacity building (e.g. carbon accounting, low-carbon transition planning)
- Engage with the Ministry of Home Affairs and connect them with technical ministries (e.g. Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources) to leverage local climate action
- Develop formal, high-trust multi-stakeholder forums (local, national and international) to foster leadership, norm-building and cross-jurisdictional learning
- Emphasise the co-benefits of climate action to incentivise local governments to transition.