Jumhur: Waste Crisis Must Be Resolved in 2-3 Years, Environmental Ethics is Key
JAKARTA – Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat has emphasised that environmental ethics must become a collective habit or habitus of society to save the planet’s future. He highlighted the increasingly evident pressures of the ecological crisis, from industrial pollution to microplastic contamination in the seas.
Jumhur stressed the importance of environmental ethics as the final foundation in preserving human civilisation’s sustainability. He stated that without ethical awareness towards the environment, economic development risks accelerating damage to the Earth, the impacts of which will be inherited by future generations.
“Ecology must become our shared habitus. Environmental ethics is important for us and must serve as the final foundation to save human civilisation,” said Jumhur in his speech at the Handover of the Environment Minister Position, Wednesday (29/4/2026).
He reminded that the global environmental crisis is not a new phenomenon. From the 1980s to the 1990s, the world faced significant pressures from two poles. Countries in the northern hemisphere, according to him, contributed massively to pollution due to massive industrialisation, marked by uncontrolled emissions and industrial waste.
Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere, environmental damage was largely triggered by deforestation and forest encroachment, which often occurred due to economic pressures on communities.
“This world is besieged by tremendous destructive forces, both from the north and the south. That is the history of our Earth,” he said.
In that context, Jumhur emphasised that the agenda to save the Earth must become a global meeting point. He raised the spirit of “Only One Earth” as a principle that can unite various interests and movements in the world in protecting the environment.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that economic development must continue, including industrial activities and the extractive sector that contribute to the country’s foreign exchange. However, he warned that the exploitation of natural resources must not exceed the environment’s carrying capacity.
According to him, an economic approach oriented solely towards unlimited exploitation must be abandoned. Industry, particularly the extractive sector, must comply with regulations and sustainability principles to avoid long-term damage.
“We must not exceed the limits. There must be restrictions and compliance with rules. We also must stop approaches that forget the obligation to maintain the environment,” said Jumhur.
He also affirmed that the current government’s policy direction aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s commitments, which he described as pro-environmental protection. One of the main focuses in the near term is addressing waste, which has now become a national problem.