Mataram, April 28-30, 2025- The energy transition toward a low carbon and socially just future is becoming a key focus ini Indonesia. Enter Nusantara, along with various civil society organizations, media outlets, and grassroots communities, attended the Bootcamp: Capturing Indonesia’s Energy Transition Justice in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, as part of a collective effort to strengthen narratives and actions that ensure an inclusive transition process.
During the three-day bootcamp, participants from NTB, NTT, and Jabodetabek discussed and shared experiences and conducted field visits to see firsthand the impacts and initiatives of renewable energy in villages. The main focus of this activity is to open a discussion space for women and vulnerable groups to speak and be heard in energy policy planning and implementation.
The event, initiated by the Indonesia Publish What You Pay National Coalition of Extractive Resources Transparency Foundation, refers to Indonesia’s NDC document, which emphasizes the importance of involving vulnerable groups, including women, indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities, in the energy transition process. However, data has shown that only 5% of women in the energy sector hold decision-making positions. This is certainly not appropriate and is still not working weel. In fact, studies conducted by IRENA and McKinsey have proven that women’s involvement can bring innovation, sustainability, and economic growth.
Participants had the opportunity to directly visit the solar power pump project in Pandan Indah Village and the Micro Hydro Power Plant (PLTMH) in Buwun Sejati Village as reflective and modeling moments. The participants learned about the role of women in promoting a just energy transition from Buwun Sejati Village and Pandan Indah Village. Pandan Indah Village has a solar water pump that successfully supplies water to the surrounding residents. In this context, women play a crucial role as key drivers who help design and implement energy projects.
The participants were able to witness how renewable energy projects can be an opportunity for empowerment if done with the principles of social justice and equality, or just a burden if they do not involve the community from the start.
The experiences of women’s communities in managing local energy, facing inequality of access, and building economic resilience are important narratives that must be mainstreamed in the national energy transition agenda.
On the last day, participants shared their experiences and formulated journalistic products and campaign content that represented the voices of their respective communities. The participants also managed to develop an action plan to be able to strengthen collaboration across regions and sectors between each other’s organizations.
This bootcamp is not just a learning forum but a space to build solidarity and strategize together for an energy transition that leaves no one behind. As the principles of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) have stated, social justice is not an accessory; it is the mainstream of a sustainable energy future.
We believe that the energy transition is not just about replacing fossil resources with renewable energy but also about changing the way we look at equity, participation, and benefit distribution. Therefore, we continue to be actively involved in various activities and go directly to the field to ensure that the perspectives of young people and marginalized groups are heard and become the basis for policy formulation.
