A growing demand for biomass energy in South Korea and Japan is driving large-scale deforestation in Indonesia, raising alarms among environmental groups. Both countries heavily subsidize biomass as a renewable energy source, leading to an increase in wood pellet imports from Indonesian forests. According to a 2024 report by Global Forest Watch, over 1.2 million hectares of Indonesian forests were cleared in the past five years to meet the rising demand. The harvested wood is processed into pellets and shipped to biomass plants, undermining efforts to preserve the country’s biodiversity and carbon sinks.
Environmentalists argue that this reliance on biomass, marketed as “green energy,” is a misleading practice that prioritizes short-term energy needs over long-term environmental sustainability. Studies reveal that burning wood pellets releases more carbon dioxide per unit of energy than coal, and it can take decades for forests to recover the carbon lost through deforestation. Activists are urging South Korea and Japan to reassess their energy policies and focus on truly renewable options like wind and solar power. Indonesia, meanwhile, faces growing pressure to enforce stricter deforestation laws to protect its remaining forests from being exploited for overseas energy consumption. More