Indonesia Sets New Carbon Trading Record

Indonesia's carbon trading has entered a promising new chapter. In January 2025, the country officially launched its first international carbon trading transaction through IDXCarbon, held at the Main Hall of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta.

The inauguration event was attended by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and PT IDX, marking an initial step towards expanding collaboration into the international carbon market.

Transaction Surge: Record Broken!

During the first quarter of 2025, the carbon trading volume on IDXCarbon reached 690,675 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e). This figure exceeds the total volume of transactions in both 2023 and 2024, setting a new national record for carbon credit sales.

For comparison:

• 2024: 413,764 tCO₂e
• 2023 (since launch on September 26): 494,254 tCO₂e
• Total from 2023 to Q1 2025: 1,598,693 tCO₂e

Technology & Innovative Projects Lead the Way

According to Kautsar Primadi Nurahmad, Corporate Secretary of IDX, there are currently 7 emission reduction projects based on technology that have been traded, with a total of 2,203,119 tCO₂e available to be traded.

In addition, the number of IDXCarbon service users has surged — growing 22% to 111 users in just the first quarter of 2025.

Indonesia Begins Carbon Exports: 5 Projects Approved for International Trading

Five energy projects in the power generation sector have received authorization for international carbon trading, namely:

• Operation of Priok CCGT Block 4 (Natural Gas)
• Conversion of Grati CCGT Block 2 from Single Cycle to Combined Cycle
• Operation of Gunung Wugul Mini-Hydro Power Plant
• Operation of Muara Karang CCGT Block 3 (Natural Gas)
• Conversion of Muara Tawar CCGT Block 2 to Combined Cycle

Transaction Value Reaches IDR 80 Billion, Surpasses Malaysia and Japan

Iman Rachman, Director of Development at IDX, as quoted by Kompas.com, stated that Indonesia’s international carbon trading volume has reached 1.6 million tons of CO₂e since its launch in September 2023.

The transaction value? Nearly IDR 80 billion (approx. USD 5 million)!

What’s even more impressive:

• Indonesia’s transaction volume is 8x larger than Malaysia’s
• 2x larger than Japan’s, even though both countries launched their carbon markets around the same time

IDXCarbon is now also attracting interest from foreign carbon projects looking to register their credits in Indonesia.

New Regulations Underway: Boosting the Carbon Economy for Growth

Eddy Soeparno, Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), also quoted by Kompas.com, stated that Indonesia is drafting regulations to strengthen the carbon market ecosystem. The goal? To drive economic growth up to 8% through support from the carbon economy sector.

Some of the upcoming regulations include:

• The New and Renewable Energy Bill (EBT Bill), which will include carbon economic value and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies
• Amendments to the Oil and Gas Law, which will incorporate carbon trading aspects

Vision for the Future: Indonesia as Asia’s Carbon Trading Hub

IDXCarbon, in collaboration with OJK and other relevant ministries/agencies, continues to strengthen the carbon market ecosystem by expanding both national and international cooperation.

The grand vision: to position Indonesia as a regional and even global carbon trading hub, while supporting the achievement of national emission reduction targets.