Toward a Socially Just Transition to Low Carbon Development: The Case of Indonesia

Abstract

In 2019, the Indonesian government released its post-Paris Agreement report Low Carbon Development: a paradigm shift towards a green economy in Indonesia, in which it set out an economic rationale for a move to low carbon growth. The core of the paradigm shift referenced in the report's title was that growth not only had to be decoupled from high carbon inputs but that in both practice and outcomes it had to be sustainable and inclusive. Yet the report does little to define social justice, equity practices, or inclusive outcomes in a green economy context. In this article, we foreground distributive, procedural and recognition aspects of social justice that are central to Indonesia's climate mitigation efforts and transition to a green, low carbon economy. We focus on two sectors that are key to this transition – forest and land-use, and energy. Our analysis shows that existing forms of injustice can exacerbate challenges for decarbonisation action and that low carbon transitions initiatives have been unable to overcome various forms of injustice and have, in some cases, created new injustices.