Ministry of Industry sets out nine-subsector path to net zero industry by 2050

Indonesia's Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has set out, in its clearest public terms yet, how the country's manufacturing base is expected to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Speaking at the CNN Indonesia Evolution Forum 2026 in Jakarta on Wednesday 30 September, Deputy Minister of Industry Faisol Riza named nine priority subsectors, six technical pillars and four policy agendas that together form the government's industrial decarbonisation pathway. The first pillar on the list is energy and material efficiency.

The industrial target of 2050 sits a full decade ahead of the national net zero goal of 2060. That ambition is not new, but the forum gave it a sharper operational shape: a defined set of subsectors, a defined set of levers, and a reporting system to track progress.

Nine subsectors, six pillars

The roadmap concentrates effort where emissions are largest. The nine priority subsectors are cement, ammonia fertiliser, metals, pulp and paper, chemicals, textiles, ceramics and glass, food and beverages, and automotive. Together they account for the bulk of the energy demand and process emissions in Indonesian manufacturing.

For each of these subsectors, the ministry has mapped decarbonisation around six pillars. They are energy and material efficiency, fuel substitution, modernisation of production processes, electrification and the use of renewable energy, and carbon capture. Reporting on the forum listed five of the six by name, so the sixth pillar was not specified in the coverage.

The order matters. Efficiency comes first because it is usually the cheapest tonne of carbon avoided, and because it pays for itself through lower fuel and electricity bills. Fuel substitution and electrification follow, then deeper process change and carbon capture for the residual emissions that efficiency alone cannot reach.

To keep the roadmap on track, companies in all nine subsectors are required to report their greenhouse gas emissions periodically through the National Industrial Information System, known as SIINas. That data becomes the basis for regular monitoring and for updating the roadmap itself as reporting coverage grows.

The numbers behind the ambition

Faisol framed the urgency with two figures. According to Kemenperin, the industrial sector contributes 34 percent of Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions and 20 to 25 percent of its air pollution. That places manufacturing at the centre of both the climate agenda and the public health agenda.

Earlier ministry statements add further depth. In December 2025, ANTARA reported that the industrial decarbonisation roadmap is projected to cut emissions by up to 289.7 million tonnes of CO2, and that the roadmap will be continuously updated as SIINas reporting expands. Sri Gadis Pari Bekti, head of the decarbonisation team at Kemenperin's Green Industry Center, said at the time that the ministry was preparing derivative regulations, including technical roadmap reports and implementing rules, and was promoting an emissions trading system as a transparent carbon pricing instrument.

Where do industrial emissions actually come from? A 2023 Kemenperin breakdown put energy use at around 60 percent of industrial emissions, industrial waste at around 25 percent, and industrial processes and product use at around 15 percent. That split explains why energy efficiency and fuel switching lead the pillar list: the single largest block of industrial emissions is the energy that factories burn and buy. The same 2023 document estimated industry's share of national emissions at 15 to 20 percent, lower than the 34 percent cited at the forum; the coverage does not explain the difference, which may reflect a different year or accounting scope.

The largest single source of industrial emissions is energy use, at around 60 percent. Every efficiency gain on the factory floor is therefore both a cost saving and a climate gain.

The national frame is also clear. Indonesia ratified the Paris Agreement through Law No. 16 of 2016, and its 2030 commitment is a 31.89 percent greenhouse gas reduction through its own efforts, rising to 43.20 percent with international support.

Four agendas and a market for green products

Beyond the technical pillars, Faisol said implementation is organised around four agendas: industrial emission reduction, the circular economy, green industry standardisation, and green technology development. All four rest on stronger foundations in energy, emissions, raw materials, production processes, water and waste management, supply chains, financing and institutions.

The inclusion of the circular economy as a stand-alone agenda is significant. It recognises that material efficiency, reuse of industrial by-products and better waste management cut emissions just as surely as cleaner energy does.

Faisol also pointed to the demand side. He said the added value and market penetration of green industry products still need to be expanded, and that future industrial development should prioritise operational efficiency and lower emissions alongside growth in capacity and investment. In other words, the ministry wants low-carbon production to be rewarded in the market, not only mandated.

He gave one concrete example of the direction of travel. The petrochemical sector is applying carbon capture to convert emissions into soda ash, with a target of producing 600,000 tonnes domestically within two to three years. Indonesia currently depends on around 1 million tonnes of soda ash imports a year, and the ministry expects this output to reduce that dependence by about 60 percent.

On transport, Faisol shared Kemenperin projections that under an accelerated scenario, the population of electric vehicles could overtake internal combustion vehicles between 2029 and 2031, and between 2032 and 2034 under a moderate scenario. The automotive subsector, one of the nine, could therefore reach net zero ahead of schedule.

Building blocks already in place

The forum statement builds on groundwork laid over the past three years. Kemenperin first set out priority subsectors for decarbonisation in 2023 and began building SIINas emission reporting. In January 2026, Katadata reported that Apit Pria Nugraha, head of the ministry's Green Industry Center, identified cement, steel, pulp and paper, and fertiliser as the four subsectors most ready for decarbonisation and for entry into an emissions trading system. The ministry also plans to require science-based decarbonisation roadmaps for each production site.

Finance is moving too. The World Bank has committed USD 600 million through its Industrial Decarbonization and Competitiveness Facility, and the Green Industry Service Company (GISCO) acts as an aggregator linking manufacturers with technology providers and green finance, from pre-assessment through to implementation.

The same forum also heard a constructive call from Suzanty Sitorus, executive director of ViriyaENB, for regulation that keeps pace with technology, citing electric vehicle classification and rooftop solar safety standards as areas where timely rules would help adoption. Eniya Listiani, Director General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, joined the forum as a speaker, underlining the link between industrial policy and energy conservation policy.

Sirkularium's view

Kemenperin's roadmap gives government and industry a common map. Nine named subsectors, six technical levers and a mandatory reporting channel are exactly the ingredients that let public institutions move from intent to implementation. The 2050 target for industry, ten years ahead of the national goal, signals confidence that manufacturing can lead rather than follow.

For public institutions, three priorities stand out. First, efficiency should be treated as the fastest and lowest-cost pillar. With energy use behind around 60 percent of industrial emissions, energy audits, energy managers and efficient motors, boilers and kilns can deliver early, bankable reductions. Pairing SIINas emission data with energy conservation reporting would help regulators and financiers target support where the savings are largest.

Second, the circular economy agenda deserves practical tools. Material efficiency standards, clear rules for using industrial by-products and waste heat, and product category rules for green certification can turn circularity into measurable tonnes avoided. The soda ash example shows how captured carbon can become a domestic product that replaces imports.

Third, demand signals matter. Green public procurement, recognition of certified low-carbon products and a predictable path to emissions trading would reward early movers, which is precisely what the Deputy Minister called for when he said market penetration of green products must widen.

What to watch next: the derivative regulations and technical roadmaps for each subsector, the pace at which SIINas reporting coverage grows, the design of emission limits and the emissions trading system for the first four ready subsectors, and how the USD 600 million World Bank facility is deployed. Sirkularium sees a strong foundation in place and stands ready to support ministries, regional governments and industrial estates in turning this roadmap into plant-level results.