Energy economics observer from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Fahmy Radhi regrets the decision of religious mass organizations PBNU and Muhammadiyah to accept the government's offer to manage coal mining.
According to him, the process of exploitation and exploration of coal mining is certain to cause more harm than benefit, such as damaging the ecology and environment and causing social problems.
Moreover, he said, in the not too distant future coal mining will enter its final period, or what is commonly called “sunset”. Many countries, especially those considered developed, have begun to abandon coal because they consider it a dirty energy source. Australia, for example, has closed its coal mines for several years.
“Some of the entrepreneurs moved to Indonesia because (here) it is still possible. But in developed countries, they have stopped and closed their coal mines. This means that they estimate that in the future there will be no more countries that use coal for their power plants. If it is then sold domestically, yes to PLN because PLN still uses coal around 57 percent, and that also applies the DMO policy (domestic market obligation) which is priced at USD70, this is also low priced. So this is called sunset industry,” said Fahmy while talking to VOA.
For the conditions in the country, said Fahmy, considering that coal reserves are still quite abundant, to avoid the “sunset period” many miners have begun to process coal to be processed into clean energy, such as converting coal into gas that can possibly be used for three-kilogram LPG gas. However, once again he reminded that the largest consumer of coal, namely PLN, has also begun to develop renewable energy and is starting to abandon coal, although gradually.
“So if then mass organizations (manage coal mining permits) I think the results will be small, the prospects are not good. And again if you look at the Presidential Regulation which states that the mines given are used mines. But the logic that we can develop is if it is used and has been explored by Adaro for 10-20 years for example, there should be only remnants,” explained Fahmy.
In addition, Fahmy said, the permit given by the government to religious organizations to manage mining permits is only for five years. According to him, the permit is very short, considering that religious organizations may not be able to mine immediately when they obtain a concession permit because they have to take care of a fairly long and tiered permit. He estimated that these organizations would only be able to carry out mining activities in the third year, so it is certain that the results or profits obtained would be very small.
“Then inside cost and benefit analysis, if cost-it is too big compared to benefit-nya then it is not feasible. NU and Muhammadiyah should have refused, I was a bit surprised yesterday when Muhammadiyah finally accepted the mining offer that harm– is greater than the benefits,” he said.
Fahmy is also worried that the two religious mass organizations will be dragged into the dark world of mining which has often occurred, such as illegal mining and mining mafia.
“Maybe they will be dragged into committing mining crimes. For example, not reclaiming or in its expansion taking indigenous people's land, that's what happens. If Muhammadiyah says it will manage it in an environmentally friendly, community-friendly way, this is impossible, because in the mining process it will certainly damage the ecology and the environment,” he said.
Meanwhile, on another occasion, CELIOS economist Bhima Yudhistira also questioned the decision of two religious organizations to accept the government's offer to manage a coal mine. Moreover, he said, these two organizations have no expertise whatsoever in the mining sector.
“For what? The purpose of their efforts is good education, good health. In fact, our study found that areas that have a mining base or villages that have a mining base are definitely poor in terms of educational facilities, health facilities, triggering horizontal and vertical community conflicts, those are the findings. So that means, there is actually no justification for Muhammadiyah to interfere or take part in continuing the mining sector,” said Bhima.
According to him, rather than religious organizations forcing themselves to manage something that is not their expertise, it would be better if they were involved in community-based renewable energy development. According to him, this can be done through Islamic boarding schools, schools or hospitals owned by the religious organizations.
“That's what can be combined, with more environmentally friendly renewable energy and this is the profit or if we talk about the economy, this profit is very large. That shows the impact of the surplus of business profits is very large if you want to enter community-based renewable energy such as solar panels, wind, microhydro which are still very much needed in villages,” he explained.
According to him, when mass organizations enter into community-based renewable energy development, the profits generated will be much greater than managing mining. Bhima is also worried that if religious mass organizations manage mining, they will only receive commissions or fees. In fact, according to him, the risk of becoming a mining permit broker is also quite large. while there are environmental impacts and social problems that must be borne by these religious mass organizations later.
“From the study we conducted, it was found that if there is a push for the use of commodity-based renewable energy, the profit received by business actors is up to IDR 9,750 trillion and 96 million people can be absorbed into the workforce in the community-based renewable energy sector. So in essence, this is a business with big profits, compared to managing coal mines, there are environmental and health impacts. Moreover, this is a former mine, we don't know how much the reserves are. If there is a conflict, such as health and environmental losses, it must be borne (by religious mass organizations),” he said.
“So, if calculated, it is actually more loss to run a mining business than to play in community-based renewable energy. And it can be crossed with hospitals, educational facilities, Islamic boarding schools owned by religious organizations, it can be an alternative for charity, especially when talking about Muhammadiyah,” he concluded. (gi/ab)
