Jakarta, July 4, 2025 – Amidst the excitement of Bank Negara Indonesia’s (BNI) 79th anniversary, Enter Nusantara, together with Climate Rangers Jakarta and the #BersihkanBankmu Coalition, presented a different “birthday gift”: a peaceful action consisting of young people and civil society demanding a stop to BNI’s funding of dirty energy projects, especially funding of coal-fired power plants.
This creative action was successfully carried out in front of BNI’s Head Office in Central Jakarta, under the theme “Happy Long Life, Now Stop Funding Dirty Energy.” Through symbolic acts such as bankers wearing gas masks, soot-covered environmental victims, and a giant dancing money puppet standing over suffering, participants conveyed a strong message: BNI’s financing of the coal industry is worsening the climate crisis and endangering the planet’s future. The funding provided by BNI clearly exacerbates the climate crisis and must be stopped immediately.
According to the Fossil Fuel Divestment Scorecard 2025 report by the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), BNI remains one of the largest state-owned banks in Indonesia that continues to actively finance coal projects. State-owned banks such as Bank Mandiri, BRI, and BNI still lack concrete policies to stop funding coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), despite the fact that Indonesia is the largest recipient of coal financing in Southeast Asia, amounting to USD 32.42 billion (approximately IDR 535.92 trillion).
The clean energy commitment that has been echoed by BNI through events such as Best Event 2024 is considered far from commitment and not in line with factual practices in the field. BNI’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) claim is considered empty without a policy of divestment from fossil energy.
“We carry out this action not only with demands but also with hopes for a decent future. BNI must immediately make a road map to stop funding dirty energy and start switching to renewable energy funding,” said Ramadhan, action coordinator from Enter Nusantara.
This action also brought four main demands to BNI:
- Immediately stop funding coal-fired power plant projects, both new and currently under development.
- Take concrete steps by implementing an official policy to stop funding fossil fuels.
- Shift investment to the clean and renewable energy sector.
- Educate customers on the transparency of the use of their deposits.
This action is a form of concern to raise public awareness, especially among young people, about the role of banks in building a commitment to tackling the climate crisis. There are still many people who do not realize that the money they save in banks can be used to finance dirty projects that damage the environment.
With the slogan “Our Money for Life, Not for Climate Crisis” and the call to #CleanYourBank, this action invites the public to be more concerned and critical of the financial institutions where they keep their money.
