It is hard to imagine living for a lifetime under the blanket of dust from a coal-powered steam power plant. Dust settles on the house’s roof, stains the floor, and sticks to the clothesline. These are common sights for residents living around the Suralaya Power Plant in Cilegon, Banten, West Java, Indonesia. Residents are forced to inhale and feel the impact of bad air from the power generating activities. As a result, residents often feel some health problems such as shortness of breath, hot and cold body conditions, and cough, accompanied by a runny nose and itching. The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), announced the results of its research which stated that coal power plant pollution causes 1,470 deaths every year and causes health-related losses of up to 14,2 trillion rupiahs.
“Yes, it’s likely the pollution is to blame. This is not right. Was it the dust? Yes, it is the dust. Sometimes I get a cough, runny nose, shortness of breath and feel unwell. I’ve been coughing up phlegm. It’s been pretty hot and cold. Sometimes I notice a smell. Can you tell me what this smell is? This is from the steam power plant,” explained Cicik, a resident who has lived in Suralaya village for 20 years. Due to its proximity, less than 100km to Jakarta, the Suralaya Power Plant is also suspected to be one of the main factors contributing to the poor air conditions in Jakarta.
Jakarta itself does not have a coal-fired power plant. Air pollution from this coal-powered steam power plant is not dissolved in the atmosphere, causing it to be carried by the wind (transboundary air pollution) to Jakarta. Jakarta once occupied the first position of the worst polluted city in the world according to IQAir with an air quality index of 156. If calculated using the IQAir index, which states that PM 2.5 is the main pollutant with a concentration of 58 micrograms per normal cubic meter, then the PM2.5 concentration in Jakarta at that time was 11.6 times more than the annual air quality guideline value of the World Health Organization (WHO).
This clean air crisis was followed by a spike in Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases, especially in Jakarta. From January to July 2023, there was a significant spike in ARI cases with an average of over 100,000 cases.
At the peak of the dry season, Indonesia’s Jabodetabek metropolitan area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) in particular always manages to top the list of cities with the worst air quality in the world. A few weeks earlier, IQAir recorded similar poor records achieved by Cileungsi, with an AQI of 169, and South Tangerang, Banten—both in West Java—with an AQI of 165.
This clean air crisis was followed by a spike in Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) cases, especially in Jakarta. From January to July 2023, there was a significant spike in ARI cases with an average of over 100,000 cases. The peak was in August, the same year, with over 200,000 cases or the equivalent of 6,000 cases per day.
“The President himself has been coughing, he said for almost four weeks. He has never felt like this before, and there may be a contribution from unhealthy air and poor quality, said the doctor,” Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, explained at that time, as quoted from CNN Indonesia.
Inhaling fumes from traffic pollution is like a time bomb for human health. Smoke from motor vehicles can cause eye irritation, sore throat, shortness of breath, and pneumonia.
Responding to this urgent matter, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar then revealed the two main sources suspected of being the cause of pollution and deterioration in Jabodetabek’s air quality, namely 44 % from motorized vehicles and 34 % from coal-powered power plants. Then the rest is household waste and combustion, from small or large industries.
Inhaling fumes from traffic pollution is like a time bomb for human health. Smoke from motor vehicles can cause eye irritation, sore throat, shortness of breath, and pneumonia. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of motorized vehicles in Jakarta continues to increase yearly. In 2022 alone the number of vehicle ownership rose to 26.4 million. This number increased dramatically compared to 2018 with 22.5 million vehicles. Seeing this reality, Jakarta residents and several environmental activists took action to protest.
Together with the Coalition of Initiatives to Clean the Air of the City and Universe (IBUKOTA), they urged the Greater Jakarta Provincial Government to immediately address the worsening air pollution problem and be responsible for the losses suffered by the city residents due to air pollution problems. This action is a further response to the results of a meeting between President Joko Widodo and related officials including the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono, who did not answer the demands in the citizen lawsuit (CLS) regarding Clean Air Rights which was won at the Central Jakarta District Court on September 16, 2021.
Jakarta residents are still required to independently find solutions to protect themselves from the effects of air pollution. There has yet to be an early warning from the government for this problem. There are some offered solutions, but the results remain a question […]
In November 2023, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal in the Jakarta air pollution lawsuit filed against President Joko Widodo and Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar. The Supreme Court’s judge stated that the government remains guilty for not fulfilling the right to a clean and healthy environment in the DKI Jakarta area. Even so, the government still hasn’t made much of an effort to tackle the air pollution crisis. In particular, there’s still a lack of policy reforms and public information disclosure related to industries, factories, and coal-fired power plants that contribute to air pollution.
Jakarta residents are still required to independently find solutions to protect themselves from the effects of air pollution. There has yet to be an early warning from the government for this problem. There are some offered solutions, but the results remain a question, such as sanctioning vehicles that violate emission tests, implementing the 4 in 1 system (four passengers within one vehicle) for private cars from outside Jakarta, and spraying water from the top of buildings and on Jakarta’s main roads. Instead, information and initiatives come from non-governmental organizations. Therefore, until now the public has only hoped for ‘protection’ from the rainy season.
