(Jakarta, October 16, 2025) – The Indonesian government and companies operating nickel mining and processing operations should take urgent action to end abuses against local communities, prevent and clean up toxic air and water pollution, and phase out the use of captive coal to power the industry, Climate Rights International said in a new report released today.

For the 129-page report, “Does Anyone Care?” The Human, Environmental, and Climate Toll of Indonesia’s Nickel Industry, Climate Rights International interviewed 93 people living near or working at nickel mining and processing operations in Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and North Maluku, the three most prominent locations of Indonesia’s nickel industry. Communities reported severe air and water pollution; health problems connected to mining; the destruction of fishing and farming livelihoods; a lack of access to public health information; land grabbing and forced relocations; unfair compensation for their land; dangerous working conditions; threats to Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life; intimidation by security forces; and fear of retaliation for speaking out.

“In the lead up to COP30 in Brazil, the Indonesian government should demonstrate meaningful leadership by announcing an ambitious, time-bound plan to decarbonize captive coal projects and curb deforestation from nickel mining,” said Krista Shennum, researcher at Climate Rights International. “The global energy transition should not be powered by the same environmentally harmful practices perpetuated for decades by extractive industries. The rights of Indigenous and other communities on the frontlines of mineral extraction must be fully respected.”

Climate Rights International previously reported on environmental and human rights harms linked to the multi-billion-dollar Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) and nearby nickel mines in Halmahera, North Maluku in January 2024 in “Nickel Unearthed” and in June 2025 in “Ongoing Harms, Limited Accountability.”

Indonesia’s nickel industry is massive. Since 2016, the number of smelters in the country has risen from two to more than 60, leaving a trail of destruction in their path. The country supplies more than half of the world’s nickel; its exports of nickel derivative products reportedly reached $38–40 billion in 2024. Much of the nickel is exported to meet the growing demand for batteries used in renewable energy, including for electric vehicles. Yet multinational companies benefiting from this supply chain have done little to address these abusive practices. 

Excessive Use of Captive Coal and Human Rights Abuses

The transition to renewable energy is key to reducing the global reliance on fossil fuels. Yet Indonesia’s nickel industry is contributing massive emissions that exacerbate the climate crisis. This is because of the building of new captive coal plants that power nickel industrial activities, but provide no electricity to local communities. Across the country, captive coal plants tied to nickel projects have 11.6 GW of generation capacity, with an additional 5.5 GW under construction and 1.5 GW in a pre-permit stage. If fully developed, these plants will be roughly equivalent to the capacity of all coal plants in Thailand and the Philippines combined. Yet captive coal plants are not subject to individual environmental impact assessments, have no greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements, and are not included in Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement.

In major nickel hotspots in Indonesia, the process of land acquisition has been characterized by land grabbing, little or no compensation, and unfair land sales. People who speak out or protest face intimidation, harassment, or retaliation. In some cases, community members say that the use of police or military personnel by nickel companies has prevented them from speaking out against land grabbing or serious environmental pollution.

Nickel mining and processing operations are threatening local residents’ right to safe, clean drinking water, as industrial activities and deforestation are polluting the waterways on which local communities depend for their basic needs. Indigenous Peoples from Bajau, Kaliki, and Mori communities and other rural residents are experiencing existential threats to their livelihoods and culture. The nickel industry’s destruction of forests, acquisition of farmland, degradation of water resources, and harm to fisheries has made it difficult, if not impossible, to continue traditional ways of life. In some villages in Central and Southeast Sulawesi, the destruction of ecosystems has led to increased conflicts between humans and crocodiles.

Across Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and North Maluku, people living near nickel projects also fear that health problems, including respiratory problems, childhood stunting, and other ailments, are related to dust pollution from nickel mines and the operation of smelters, processing facilities, and captive coal plants.

In the words of Hargono, former village secretary for Tapuemea village, Southeast Sulawesi and a member of Mandiodo Watch, a community group dedicated to monitoring mining activities,

If everything is polluted, what is left for us to eat, what is left for us to breathe?

Workers at the massive 5,500-hectare Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi described systemic labour rights violations, including occupational health and safety risks. Women workers navigate additional hazards, including gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, reproductive health risks from toxic exposure, and inadequate facilities.

“At multibillion dollar industrial projects across Indonesia, local communities now find themselves in de facto ‘sacrifice zones,’ where the extraction of nickel comes at the cost of health, livelihoods, and rights,” said Shennum. “Indonesian, Chinese, and other foreign companies are taking advantage of the climate crisis to extract nickel in an unjust, harmful, and carbon-intensive way. Far from protecting people and the environment, the government is actively supporting this industry as it steamrolls over Indigenous and other communities.”

Government and Corporate Responsibility

One year into Prabowo Subianto’s presidency, his government has continued to actively promote the nickel industry over the wellbeing of its citizens, Climate Rights International said. The Indonesian government should urgently strengthen laws and regulations to minimize the impacts of nickel mining and refining on communities, including on Indigenous communities. The government should also immediately stop the permitting of all new coal plants, including captive coal plants used to power nickel industrial areas.

Strong government regulation and oversight, and greater corporate due diligence, is necessary to ensure that the growing transition mineral industry and related supply chains do not replicate the appalling labor and environmental practices that have long characterized the extractive industries in Indonesia and around the globe. Over the past decade, the Indonesian government has enacted policies and laws to prioritize the growth of the nickel industry, weaken environmental protection and the rights of Indigenous communities, and increase militarization. In March 2025, parliament passed revisions to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Act, allowing active military members to hold civilian roles. Human rights groups fear this could intensify militarization and reduce accountability in regions affected by extractive industries.

Harms to local communities and the environment are being driven by the activities of many nickel mining and processing companies, including at some of the country’s largest nickel industrial sites and companies, including the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, PT Gunbuster Nickel Industrial, Harita Nickel, Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry, PT Obsidian Stainless Steel, and the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park. Nickel companies should take immediate steps to remedy water and air pollution caused by their operations, and properly dispose of mine tailings to minimize environmental pollution. Companies should fully and fairly compensate all community members, including Indigenous Peoples, for their land, and ensure they obtain free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), as established by international human rights law.  

Electric vehicle and battery companies that source nickel from Indonesia should immediately use their leverage to ensure suppliers end and remedy rights abuses, clean up water and air pollution, and transition from coal to renewable sources of energy as soon as possible, Climate Rights International said. Electric vehicle companies should also increase transparency by providing public information about all companies in their transition mineral supply chains.

“Since over half of the world’s nickel originates from Indonesia, most electric vehicle companies and battery manufactures use Indonesian nickel in their batteries,” said Shennum. “To maintain their credibility as part of the solution to the climate crisis, the electric vehicle industry must push nickel companies to respect the rights of communities, end environmentally destructive practices, and stop burning coal to power nickel processing.”