decision

Ministry of Environment and Forestry v. PT Bumi Mekar Hijau - decision

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Litigation

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Sabin Litigation

Filing Year For Action

On February 3, 2015, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (the MoEF) filed a tort-based lawsuit against PT Bumi Mekar Hijau for intentionally causing fires to the peatlands. The MoEF argued that the defendant had intentionally burn the peatlands area to clear the land for timber planting purposes. Thus, the MoEF requested the court to declare that defendant liable for damages amounting to IDR 5.299 trillion and restoration costs for IDR 2.687 trillion. With damages and restoration cost amounting almost to IDR 8 trillion, this lawsuit is ranked among the highest damages in Indonesian forest fires litigation. In relation to climate damages, the MoEF argued that fires on the peatlands had caused in the release of 135,000 tC and 5,670 tCO2. The MoEF set the price for reduction and restoration of carbon on IDR 90,000. Hence, the total of restoration costs for the release of Carbon and Carbon Dioxide, respectively, were IDR 12.2 billion and IDR 4.3 billion. 

On December 30, 2015, District Court of Palembang ruled in favor of the defendant and rejected all the plaintiff’s claim. Despite accepting the fact that the fires had occurred, the judges did not consider it as damages and believed the land were still able to be planted. On May 3, 2016, the Court of Appeal overruled the district court decision on the grounds that the damages had occurred in the form of air pollution and damages on the peatlands. The court of appeal also awarded the plaintiff the restoration costs for climate damages in the full amount as requested.


Ministry of Environment and Forestry v. PT Bumi Mekar Hijau

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

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Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Ministry of Environment and Forestry v. PT Bumi Mekar Hijau - decision

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance