In the midst of a pressing climate emergency, green technology-based solutions are beginning to emerge.
This became the main thread of a panel discussion entitled "Turning Crisis into Hope: Green Technology for Climate Solutions" held by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) at the Djakarta Theater, Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Present as speakers were Ministerial Expert Staff for Socio-Economic and Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Wijaya Kusumawardhana, Executive Vice Chairman and Co-Founder of Planet Carbon Ridzki Kramadibrata, Ember Energy Senior Analyst Dinita Setyawati, Artificial Intelligence Advisor FAIR Forward GIZ Indonesia Karlina Octaviany.
In the opening, moderator senior journalist Deandra Syarizka said the discussion was designed to bring together three perspectives: government, business, and think tanks. All three are expected to provide a cross-sectoral picture to answer the big question: to what extent can technology be a climate savior?
Wijaya, representing the government, acknowledged that the use of AI could be a driver of green growth. However, he emphasized that this potential would not be optimized without an equitable digital infrastructure.
"We must have enough data centers and fast internet connections so that AI can work optimally," he said.
Currently, Indonesia only has around 140 data centers, while the average internet speed still lags far behind developed countries.
Another challenge is the inequality of digital access. Wijaya said that digital transformation will only succeed if it is done inclusively.
"No one left behind," he said, citing the government's main principle in technology policy.
To that end, the government is encouraging cross-party collaboration and setting up nine AI development centers in various regions. Training programs are also designed so that people can access technology in an ethical and public interest-oriented manner.
On the other hand, a serious issue arises about the energy consumption required by the use of AI systems on a massive scale. Wijaya said the use of big data and machine learning requires enormous energy and has an impact on increasing emissions, especially if it is not supported by clean energy.
He also touched on the risk of bias in algorithm development. "We are discussing how to build ethical AI, which is not gender-biased or creates new social inequalities," Wijaya said. This principle is important so that technology remains in favor of humans
Another solution developed is the involvement of education. The government assigns academic institutions to conduct AI research, and will prepare supporting regulations if needed. "We cannot work alone. There must be innovation from the campus and the community," he said.
Planet Carbon's Ridzki is addressing that challenge with a soil-based approach: biochar. This technology uses biomass to produce charcoal that can store carbon in the soil for hundreds of years.
"Biochar is very stable," says Rizky. "It does not release carbon back into the air and can be stored in the soil for 100 to 1,000 years, depending on the process." He adds that biochar also reduces the need for fertilizer as it retains water and nutrients longer in the soil.
Although promising, biochar is not without obstacles. Rizky said the biggest challenge came after biochar was successfully produced in large quantities. According to him, the process of returning the material to agricultural land evenly requires a distribution system that is not simple. He added that distributing directly to small farmers is difficult without a strong logistics model.
Rizky emphasized the importance of building an efficient logistics model. He encouraged collaboration with agri-tech players to bridge this technology to the grassroots layer.
Meanwhile, Dinita Setyawati, a senior analyst from research institute Energi Ember, highlighted structural barriers in energy policy. According to her, coal prices that are too cheap make it difficult for renewable energy plants to compete.
He suggested that the government incorporate clean flexibility tools such as pump hydro and battery storage from the project planning stage. An example is floating solar power plants in reservoirs that can be combined with energy storage.
In addition, strengthening the electricity network between regions is key. Dinita pointed out that regions such as Sumatra have high potential for solar power exports to Singapore, if interconnections are strengthened.
On the other hand, Dinita highlighted that Indonesia has not adopted an electricity pricing system that reflects the true cost. The existence of disguised subsidies to coal through the domestic market obligation (DMO) policy makes renewable energy less economically competitive.
Technology-based solutions can also be extended to the social sphere. Karlina Oktaviani from Fair Forward GIZ Indonesia explained how AI can be developed with local communities in Aceh Island and Maros.
In these two areas, Karlina and the Fair Forward team built IoT sensor-based weather stations that were assembled by the community. The sensors are designed to be simple, inexpensive, and self-maintainable by the community. "We trained local people for four hours to assemble the sensors and write the coding," Karlina said. Some of the sensors were even tested directly at sea, facing waves and natural disturbances, including being used as crab nests.
"We put the data center in a coffee shop. Because that's where people gather, watch the sensors, and look after the equipment," Karlina says, emphasizing the importance of adapting technology to local culture.
Fair Forward also builds local language datasets to train contextualized and fair AI. All data is made public, and training is structured to be accessible to citizens without technical backgrounds.
"We want indigenous peoples to not just be objects of research, but also managers of technology. They must have autonomy over their own knowledge," says Karlina. This principle is the basis for Fair Forward's technology development that is inclusive and based on local needs.
The discussion illustrated that solutions to the climate crisis don't just come from policy ivory towers or state-of-the-art laboratories. Instead, a combination of digital tools, local knowledge, and structural support can lead to more tangible transformations to address climate change.
