Email: karib.13@nus.edu.sg

Affiliation: Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Nationality: Indonesian

The Just Transition from Below; Intaran Bergerak Movement Against Gasification in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of mainstream Just Transition discourse in Southern countries, focusing on a case study in Bali, Indonesia, concerning the expansion of natural gas and its justification as part of the energy transition. Just Transition is closely tied to decarbonization, energy transition, and clean energy. The Indonesian government has begun to incorporate these concepts into its policies and practices at both national and provincial levels. By framing natural gas as clean energy, the government legitimizes its expansion in various regions to meet the country's growing electricity demands. Consequently, community groups in areas where the gas industry is developing are transforming under the banner of energy transition and clean energy.

The paper will specifically address natural gas as one of the energy sources considered for the Transition, exploring how the gas project in Bali has sparked resistance from the local community in Intaran Village. Local communities in Intaran and other areas of Indonesia face adverse impacts from the government's plan to build a gas transition terminal. Despite claims from the Bali provincial government, supported by the Central Government, that Bali requires energy supplies and that natural gas is a clean energy source, the residents of Intaran oppose the construction of the terminal. The study will delve into the gas expansion case in Bali, highlighting the Balinese community's response through the Intaran Bergerak Movement. This case illustrates how the transition from coal to gas—often presented as a short-term solution within Indonesia's Just Transition narrative—encounters significant resistance and fails to adequately address the concerns of marginalized communities.

Additionally, the paper introduces the concept of ""Just Transition from Below"" and critiques the conventional Just Transition (JT) model, which traditionally emphasizes labor and employment opportunities in Northern countries. Redefining the JT framework in the context of the Global South is essential to address its limitations and the biases inherent in the Northern approach. A key question within the JT framework is: Justice for whom? The "Just Transition from Below" approach provides an alternative perspective by highlighting the unique challenges faced by Southern countries and emphasizing the often-overlooked aspect of the uneven and combined trajectories of the global energy transition. This approach recognizes the distinct developmental paths between Northern and Southern countries, focusing on three critical elements: the global asymmetry of power among nations, the uneven global division of labor, and agrarian transformation. It argues that considering these three elements in the context of the global capitalist system is essential for achieving justice in the global energy transition.

Bio

Fathun Karib Ph.D. is a joint appointment postdoctoral fellow under the ARI-DIJ Research Partnership on Asian Infrastructures and affiliated to the Inter-Asia Engagements and Science, Technology, and Society clusters at Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He was previously appointed as Postdoctoral fellow in Research Center for Area Studies, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia. Karib also works as a sociology lecturer at the Department of Sociology, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton. His current research interests are energy and environmental history, critical agrarian studies, Anthropocene/Capitalocene, political economy of disaster, and the history of geology as a science.