THE LEGACY MAKERS

FROM BELÉM, BRAZIL TO THE WORLD:

GREEN DEMOCRACY, CLIMATE, AND THE TRUST OF LEADERSHIP

In Belém, Brazil, amid the global pulse of the 30th Conference of Parties (COP30), the Chairman of Indonesia’s Regional Representative Council (DPD RI), Sultan Baktiar Najamudin, stood not merely as a delegate of Indonesia, but as a voice from a tropical nation carrying the hopes of the world. At the Plenary Investment Forum, he appeared as a keynote speaker, introducing an idea that goes beyond technical policy: Green Democracy and The Climate Change Bill: Indonesia’s Path to Sustainable Transformation.

Before delegates, industrialists from developed countries, and global stakeholders, Sultan conveyed that Indonesia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement is not an empty promise. It is demonstrated through a package of green policies, including Presidential Regulation No. 110 of 2025 on Carbon Economic Value, as well as legislative initiatives such as the Indigenous Peoples Bill, the Archipelagic Regions Bill, and the Climate Change Management Bill. All of these, he emphasized, reflect Indonesia’s genuine commitment to placing green policy as the foundation of national transformation.

The concept of Green Democracy he introduced received a positive response from the forum. Sultan stressed that Indonesia’s climate diplomacy under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto is not merely about numerical targets, but about a collaborative approach grounded in justice and integrity. Indonesia, with the third-largest tropical rainforest in the world and the largest mangrove ecosystem globally, holds a strategic role in carbon storage and energy transition. Amid the increasingly drastic rise in global temperatures over the past three decades, Sultan highlighted the importance of two simultaneous approaches: energy transition and the strengthening of the carbon capture industry.

Citing the UNDP Global Climate Report 2024, he revealed a sobering fact: 70 percent of global climate policies have failed—not due to a lack of funding or technology, but because of weak political coherence and integration. This is where Green Democracy finds its relevance—an effort to restore ecological awareness to the heart of democracy, making environmental issues a living political agenda, especially for the younger generation. “Green Democracy is not merely a concept, but a political movement that connects regional needs, political interests, and ecological justice for the welfare of the people,” Sultan stated. He believes that true leadership in the age of climate change is leadership that dares to place sustainability as the nation’s moral compass.

Sustainable Transportation: The Long Road to Net-Zero

In another session at the same forum, the Sultan raised the issue of transportation and sustainable mobility as key to reducing carbon emissions. He highlighted the imbalance in vehicle composition and the lack of public transportation in Indonesia, which results in fuel wastage of up to 79.2 million kiloliters per year. Air pollution reaching tens of millions of tons, along with greenhouse gas emissions amounting to hundreds of millions of tons of CO₂e annually, has had a tangible impact on public health—reflected in Jakarta residents’ healthcare costs, which reach tens of trillions of rupiah each year.

He emphasized that integrated transportation models like Jakarta’s—combining BRT, LRT, MRT, electric buses, as well as first/last-mile services—should be replicated in other major cities. The digitalization of transportation through ride-sharing and ride-hailing, he noted, opens opportunities for efficiency and inclusivity. All of this, reinforced by the submission of the Climate Change Management Bill by the Regional Representative Council (DPD RI), aims to create a strong legal framework aligned with international commitments while remaining responsive to regional needs.

The Sultan stressed that mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis have become part of the direction of national development. The transformation of lifestyles and urban development toward net-zero carbon is no longer mere discourse, but an inevitability that must be pursued with a spirit of equity and sustainability.

A Mandate Behind the Honor

Yet, behind the global stage and international forums, there lies a deeper dimension—the inner life of a leader who bears the Bintang Indonesia Utama, the nation’s highest honor. For the Sultan, the medal is not merely a gleam on the chest, but a moral burden carried in the heart. It serves as a reminder that every step, every decision, must be grounded in a responsibility greater than oneself.

For that reason, hard work becomes an endeavor that must never cease. Honor is not the ultimate goal, but a mandate. Especially for the youth—the nation’s finest generation—it is essential to set an example that true dedication is the courage to keep working, listening, and being present. So that Indonesia not only grows economically, but also matures morally and remains ecologically sustainable.

From Belém, Brazil, Sultan Baktiar Najamudin brings a narrative: that the future of climate, democracy, and Indonesia’s younger generation are intertwined in a single thread— the responsibility to safeguard the earth while preserving hope.

WHEN NATURE CONTINUES TO SPEAK THE TRUTH

Drawing from the intellectual clarity of a statesman who has endured the rigors of the business world and the dynamics of national politics, the Chairman of the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia, Sultan B. Najamudin, begins this reflection from the still-fresh wounds in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, which since November 25, 2025, have been struck by flash floods and landslides. In evacuation shelters, clothes are hung out to dry in air that never quite loses its dampness, while children ask in innocent voices that stir the conscience, “When will our home return?”—a portrait showing that this is not merely a seasonal disaster, but a humanitarian tragedy that reveals a truth we often ignore: that data never lies, that patterns of destruction keep repeating, that laws and policies may be engineered, but nature never deceives. It always records, and then responds in its harshest language—floods, landslides, and loss—as a warning that development which turns a blind eye to the earth’s limits will ultimately return to us as an ecological debt to be paid by both present and future generations.

Experts consistently remind us: data never lies. The series of disasters in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh is not a single event nor is it the first. It is a repetition of the same pattern, wearing different faces. If the development paradigm does not change, then be certain: this will not be the last. “Laws can be engineered, policies can be polished, but nature never lies. It always records, then responds in the harshest language: floods, landslides, and loss,” Sultan emphasized, warning that every compromise against the environment will ultimately be paid for with human suffering.

For more than half a century, Indonesia’s development has relied on land, minerals, and forests as its primary capital. There is nothing wrong with development itself. What is wrong is when development turns a blind eye to nature’s limits. Forests are treated as if they are lifeless, land as if it has no voice. Data from WALHI shows that during the New Order era, extractive activities reached around 78.6 million hectares. After the Reformasi period, the pattern did not truly change: under President SBY it reached about 55 million hectares, and under President Jokowi around 7.9 million hectares. These figures emphasize one thing: exploitation is not accidental, but a pattern that has been inherited.

A warming climate is not propaganda, but a real threat. BMKG records show that Indonesia’s temperature has increased by about 0.8°C since 1981. The IPCC places Southeast Asia in a consistent warming trend. The impacts are felt in daily life: disrupted seasons, increasing extreme rainfall, and longer heatwaves. Bappenas and BNPB state that around 135 million Indonesians now live in areas at risk of floods and landslides. More than half of the nation lives on the edge of danger, waiting their turn in an ecological system that we continue to pressure.

Deforestation is a gaping wound that has never truly healed, Sultan said. Between 1990 and 2015, Indonesia lost around 23.7 million hectares of forest. The year 2011 marked a dark point, followed by the massive fires of 2015 that burned millions of hectares and blanketed the region in haze. Hydrological research shows that dense forests can retain 20–50 percent of rainwater runoff. When forests are damaged, this capacity drops drastically. Thus, the floods and landslides in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh are not surprising. They are nature’s response to forests being cut down and rivers being narrowed.

This nation is now paying its ecological debt from the past. A debt that cannot be repaid merely with social assistance or official visits. A debt with high interest, borne by generations who did not take part in the decisions. River basins are weakening, soil absorption is declining, and local temperatures are rising. This is the time to stop blaming one another and start learning from history. Because disasters are repeated tests—and we too often answer them the same way.

This is where Green Democracy finds its meaning. “A democracy that not only listens to the voice of the people, but also to the voice of the Earth,” said Sultan, who believes that the nation’s future depends on today’s ability to align political interests with ecological safety. The voices of felled forests, overflowing rivers, cracking mountains, and future generations waiting to see whether we will act wisely or negligently. Development decisions must no longer consider only economic growth, but also account for ecological costs and future risks. Balance, harmony, and living in alignment with nature are not new ideas—they are the original values passed down by our ancestors.

Indonesia must not only respond to disasters; it must prevent them. By strengthening preparedness systems, auditing extractive permits, imposing moratoriums in high-risk areas, developing technology-based risk maps, providing green incentives, rehabilitating millions of hectares of forests, and embracing Green Democracy as a national leadership ethic, the nation can rise to a higher level—from a victim of climate change to a leader of a new Nusantara civilization. Because in the end, data never lies—and we must not allow a dark history to repeat itself.