AHY: Trucks Contribute 31 Percent of Transport Emissions, Decarbonisation Must Be Accelerated

Heavy vehicles account for only about three percent of Indonesia’s total vehicle population but contribute roughly 31 percent of carbon emissions in the transport sector. Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) believes that decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles is a crucial step to reduce emissions while supporting economic growth. Speaking at the Indonesia Zero Emission Heavy-Duty Vehicle Summit 2026, AHY said Indonesia faces the challenge of meeting energy needs for development without neglecting its greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments. “When we want to build, we need more energy. But when energy increases, the consequence is higher carbon emissions,” AHY said on Thursday. According to AHY, the government does not need to choose between energy security and environmental sustainability because both must go hand in hand. Efforts being pursued include expanding the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and diversifying energy sources. AHY explained that around 55 percent of national carbon emissions come from the energy sector. Of that amount, approximately 82 percent originates from various transport modes, while land transport contributes about 89 percent of the transport sector’s emissions. “The numbers are small, but the emissions bite,” he remarked. The government, AHY said, continues to oversee the transport decarbonisation roadmap through the development of low-emission vehicles, the use of low-carbon fuels, vehicle electrification, fleet modernisation, operational efficiency improvements, and strengthened governance. “It is pointless to build strategies without good governance, transparency, accountability, and fair law enforcement,” he stated. In addition, the government is promoting vehicle electrification, the development of bus rapid transit (BRT), more efficient traffic management, and the implementation of the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept. The government is also accelerating the implementation of B50 biodiesel, the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), maritime transport modernisation, and railway network development to reduce emissions from the transport sector. AHY also affirmed that the government is speeding up the enforcement against over-dimension and over-loading (ODOL) vehicles through a joint strategy with industry players and the logistics sector, including providing incentives for companies that convert their fleets to meet safety standards. “Ultimately, we want to ensure that we cannot put safety factors on the road second,” he said. According to AHY, electric vehicle development must be carried out comprehensively, from creating demand and expanding public electric vehicle charging station (SPKLU) networks to strengthening the domestic manufacturing industry and research and development. “We must not be content with merely exporting raw materials. We must increase their value through downstream processing and build an electric vehicle ecosystem from us, by us, for us,” AHY concluded.