A Critical Analysis of Carbon Trading Policy as an Action for Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change from the Perspective of Indigenous Peoples in Indonesia

Abstract

The climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution are three planetary crisis facing humanity today. Studies show that the primary source of these crises is the massive emissions released by developed/industrial countries over the past decades through energy, agriculture, forest and land conversion, industrialization, and waste. In 2015, the world’s nations committed to addressing the climate crisis, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. By passing Law Number 16 of 2016 about the Paris Agreement on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Indonesia, a party to the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, ratified the Paris Agreement. Presidential Regulation Number 98 of 2021, which addressed the Implementation of Carbon Economic Values for Achieving Nationally Determined Contribution Targets and Control of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in National Development, was subsequently issued in response to this policy. The Indonesian government has disregarded the rights of Indigenous Peoples in favor of a carbon trading mechanism centered on forests and land, rather than reaffirming its commitment to combating climate change. This study critically examines carbon trading programs within the perspective of climate change adaptation and mitigation using a qualitative methodology grounded in literature analysis, particularly from the perspective of Indigenous Peoples. Findings indicate that carbon trading-based conservation models often contradict Indigenous Peoples' own conservation practices. In fact, in many regions, such projects trigger conflict, land grabbing, and the potential criminalization of Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, carbon trading fails to address the root causes of the climate crisis. The offset scheme instead allows industrial actors to continue releasing emissions on a large scale. Therefore, this mechanism is inconsistent with the principles of climate justice, the fulfillment of Indigenous Peoples' rights, and the global obligation to curb global warming.