Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto's speech at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday September 23 in New York has attracted the attention of several civil society organisations. They believe that Prabowo's statements about the food crisis and climate are not in line with the conditions domestically.
In his speech, Prabowo said Indonesia's ambition is to become a global actor in dealing with the climate crisis and food security. He claimed that Indonesia is already achieved rice self-sufficiency, targeting 12 million hectares of degraded land, building a 480 kilometre sea wall and pursuing carbon neutrality by 2060 or sooner.
However, a number of observers and activists believe that his speech did not touch the root cause of the problems and tended to ignore climate justice for vulnerable groups such as farmers and fishers.
"The reality is a decline in rice fields and domestic rice prices continue to soar", said Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) researcher Jaya Darmawan during a media discussion in Jakarta on Tuesday September 24.
Rice prices go up, rice fields shrink
The National Statistics Agency (BPS) has noted that the total area of paddy fields in Indonesia shrank from 10.21 million hectares in 2023 to 10.05 million hectares in 2024. Grain production also declined, from 53.98 million tons to 53.14 million tons in the same period.
In parts of Eastern Indonesia such as Jayapura and Merauke in Papua, the price of rice topped 18,000 rupiah per kilogram. This figure exceeds the highest retail price (HET) for premium and medium rice.
Nationally determined commitment not submitted
As of the September 20, 2025 deadline, Indonesia has not yet submitted a second nationally determined contribution (SNDC) document, namely its latest climate commitment to the UN. This raises doubts about the seriousness of the government in handling the systemic climate crisis.
Nadia Hadad, the executive director of the environmental non-government organisation the Madani Berkelanjutan Foundation, criticised the government's approach that is too focused on technical solutions. She considers that the root of the problem lies in economic inequality and natural resource governance.
"If we only pursue 8 percent economic growth without restoring the environment and strengthening social justice, then the forests and biodiversity will be sacrificed", she said.
She also highlighted Prabowo's lack of support for the climate financial scheme proposed by Brazil's President, Lula Da Silva, such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). According to Hadad, reforestation alone is not enough if deforestation still occurs in the name of food and energy security.
Renewable energy targets weakened
Meanwhile, Saffanah Azzahra from the Indonesian Centre for Environmental Law (ICEL), believes that the renewable energy mix target in the National Energy Policy (KEN) is even lower than before. In the latest KEN, the renewable energy target is only 19-23 percent in 2030, down from 23 percent in 2025 as detailed in the previous KEN.
"With the dominance of fossil energy reaching 79 percent, where 50 percent comes from coal, the target of maintaining the temperature of the earth below 1.5 C is impossible", Azzahra said.
She also criticised the use of co-firing technology as a solution to reduce emissions. Based on Indonesian Forest Watch data, the use of biomass in 52 coal-fired power plants (PLTUs) has the potential to cause deforestation of up to 4.65 million hectares.
Jaya Darmawan added that exports of wood pellets from Indonesia to Japan and Korea showed a suspicious data mismatch. "The export difference worth US$153 million over the past 12 years can be included in the category of illicit financing", he said.
Human rights and diplomatic consistency
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid believes that Prabowo's statements related to human rights are merely rhetorical if it is not followed by concrete policies at home.
"If Indonesia has not ratified the Rome Statutes and the Refugee Convention, then the criticism of genocide in Gaza becomes empty", said Hamid.
He also criticised the Indonesian Military's (TNI) involvement in the national food program, such as the distribution of nutritious food, as a move that is not in line with the role of the military in peace diplomacy.
The detention of activists and students after the August demonstrations and the cancellation of an independent fact-finding team into the incident is also considered to harm the government's human rights commitment.
"What is polishing lipstick abroad for, if human rights within the country are ignored", he asserted.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Pidato Prabowo di PBB Dinilai Kontradiktif oleh Organisasi Masyarakat Sipil".]
Source: https://kaltimtoday.co/pidato-prabowo-di-pbb-dinilai-kontradiktif-oleh-organisasi-masyarakat-sipil
