KUALA LUMPUR: Masked and dressed in black, Greenpeace activists protested in the Indonesia capital, Jakarta, against plans to build the region's largest coal power plant. The activists said the proposal would cause environmental damage in the country's waters and leave fishermen and farmers in a precarious position. The demonstration called on the government to rethink the plan. Greenpeace argued that the coal plant in Java's Batang district would “pollute coastal waters and threaten the livelihoods of more than 10,000 fishermen as well as farmers on nearby lands.” Greenpeace campaigner Arif Fiyanto speaking to Radio Netherlands, said that Indonesia had committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent from 2009 levels by 2020. “But coal contributes 60 percent of global emissions,” he said. “If Indonesia were serious about its commitment, it would try to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels.” But Jakarta believes that by building the plant it would increase energy capacity by some 2,000 megawatts and propel the country towards its goal of 20,000 MW on its power grid by 2016. Radio Netherlands said the plant is “set to be built in a public-private partnership between Indonesian coal miner Adaro Energy and Japan's Electric Power Development (J-Power) and Itochu Corp., after the consortium won a $3.2 billion tender last year for the project.” Activists, however, raised concern that the project “illegal,” saying the coastal area of Ujungnegoro-Roban to be developed was protected territory under a central government regulation from 2008. Batang's district government, disagreed, and issued a new regulation in 2011 stating the area was no longer protected – and a maritime ministry official said Jakarta had no authority to overrule the decision. “Indonesia is a democracy, and our country decided to give more power to local governments to make these decisions,” Sudirman Saad, the ministry's head of marine, coastal and small island affairs, told Greenpeace and reporters, as reported by the European outlet. “This isn't our responsibility. If you want to ask why this project was approved, you have to ask the Batang government,” he said.
