The Irony of Trucks in Indonesia: Only 4 Percent, But Contributing 40 Percent of Emissions

JAKARTA – The number is small, but the impact is significant. The truck population in Indonesia constitutes only about 4 percent of the total motor vehicles, yet it contributes more than 40 percent of emissions in the transportation sector.

This fact highlights the irony in the national transportation system. A vehicle that is minor in population terms has become the main contributor to air pollution, particularly from logistics activities that depend on diesel-fuelled trucks.

Urban Mobility Manager at the World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia, Dimas Fadhil, revealed that the emission contribution from trucks reaches around 40.56 percent, far exceeding its proportion in the vehicle population.

“The number of trucks is perhaps only around 4 percent of the total national vehicles. But from our calculations, its contribution reaches around 40.56 percent of emissions in the transportation sector,” Dimas stated during a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026).

This imbalance is inseparable from the operational characteristics of trucks that use solar fuel with high usage intensity. Trucks form the backbone of goods distribution, with nearly 90 percent of logistics movements in Indonesia still relying on this mode.

In addition to impacting the environment, this situation also burdens the state budget. The high consumption of solar leads to swelling allocations for diesel fuel subsidies and compensation amounting to tens of trillions of rupiah.

Given the magnitude of this impact, WRI Indonesia is pushing for accelerated transformation in the goods vehicle sector, including through truck electrification. However, this step is deemed insufficient without accompanying comprehensive logistics system improvements.

“Electrification is one solution, but it must be combined with other approaches such as distribution efficiency and a shift to lower-emission transport modes,” Dimas said.