Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration

Debate between Sarah Dyke and Seema Malhotra

Tuesday 23rd June 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Seema Malhotra)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy.

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) for securing this debate. I pay tribute to her long-standing work on climate and environmental issues, and to her generosity in sharing with us her experience of “squelching” in the Indonesian peatlands. Her account, alongside the contributions of other hon. Members who have also recently visited Indonesia, brought to life the richness of the environment in the country, and therefore the importance of our work together on climate and nature.

I am also grateful for the thoughtful contributions of hon. Members from across the House in speeches and interventions today, including by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Fylde (Mr Snowden); the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage); my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds); my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel); the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon); and my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner).

I recognise that this is a very timely and important debate. It comes just a few months after my first visit to Indonesia. I am very grateful to our climate and nature special envoys who were referred to in this debate, Rachel Kyte and Ruth Davis, for their extremely important work and their contributions to many discussions with Ministers across different Departments.

There is a very strong interest in this House in how we tackle climate change and protect nature, and in how we work with partners around the world to do so. With Indonesia, the core of our partnership is focused on climate, nature and energy co-operation. It is also important to say up front that Indonesia is pivotal to global outcomes on climate and nature for the reasons that we have heard today, including the scale of its rainforests and biodiversity. Indeed, its actions on energy, forests and oceans will help to tackle similar challenges across the world.

I also pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East as the UK’s Climate Minister last year, during which time she visited Indonesia. I know that she saw at first hand how our partnership with Indonesia works in practice. In Jakarta, she met Energy Minister Bahlil. She worked to deepen our co-operation on the energy transition—from renewables to carbon capture, carbon markets and critical minerals, all of which were referred to in today’s informed debate—recognising the real economic and political challenges that Indonesia faces as it moves away from coal. I am proud that she launched a UK-supported micro-hydro project in Lombok, demonstrating how we are working alongside Indonesia to support clean, reliable energy at a community level.

That combination of high-level policy engagement and practical delivery is central to our approach across climate, energy and nature, and we continue to build on that through our ongoing dialogue with Indonesian partners. Indonesia stands out as one of the most important countries in the world for climate and nature. It is home to the world’s third largest tropical rainforest basin and has rich marine ecosystems that store carbon and support extraordinary biodiversity. It is a major emitter and a major part of the solution.

As a G20 economy and a leading voice in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia has influence well beyond its region. Its economy has long depended on sectors such as coal and palm oil, and like many countries it faces difficult choices as it seeks to balance growth with environmental protection. At the same time, Indonesia has committed to reducing emissions and is taking steps on forest protection, clean energy and climate finance. This Government are clear that global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss can be tackled only through partnership, because no country can do this alone.

I will endeavour to respond to a number of comments raised today. My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley will be aware of concerns about Mama Yasinta. We take seriously all reports of human rights violations across Papua. We are concerned about the recent increase in violence in Papua, including fatalities. I visited Indonesia in February and underlined the importance that the UK attaches to human rights. I raised the issue of Papua directly with the vice Foreign Minister.

I also want to refer to the UK’s approach to supporting orangutans, which is twofold: to decrease the drivers of orangutan habitat loss and to support the mobilisation of finance for habitat conservation. An important example of sustainable commodity production is the multi-stakeholder forestry partnership phase 5, referred to earlier. That programme is helping Indonesia to strengthen the sustainability and legality of its timber production, ensuring that pressure from the forestry industry is managed sustainably. That is relevant for habitats across Indonesia, including the ecosystems of Kalimantan and Sumatra that are home to Indonesia’s orangutans.

Threats to Indonesia’s maritime environments include pollution; illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices; and warming waters linked to climate change. The UK and Indonesia continue to work closely with each other through the Blue Planet fund country plan. We are proud to partner with Indonesia through that fund and the maritime partnership programme. A number of hon. Members referred to the maritime challenges, and it is important to keep that focus in our debate.

In relation to the UK’s action, we have worked closely with Indonesia for more than 20 years, combining diplomacy, technical support and targeted finance to tackle environmental and nature issues. Indeed, what started as co-operation on sustainable timber has grown into a wider partnership. Hon. Members also referred to the important engagement earlier this year when the Prime Minister and President Prabowo Subianto agreed a new strategic partnership. The ambition for climate, energy and nature was clear at the Lancaster House breakfast, which I attended, where President Prabowo and His Majesty the King came together with a vision for Indonesia as a global leader in sustainable nature finance.

We are now taking that important ambition forward in practical ways. For example, we are supporting efforts to protect forests and tackle deforestation, including in supply chains such as palm oil. We are backing Indonesia’s energy transition, including through a just energy transition partnership. We are committed to providing a guarantee to unlock $1 billion of additional climate finance from the World Bank to support the energy transition. That is important because we know that Indonesia has to fill a significant climate finance gap to meet its mitigations and adaptation goals.

[Sarah Dyke]

The Minister is clearly setting out how the Indonesian rainforests and peatlands deliver irreplaceable global climate benefits. We know that conservation efforts have been severely undermined because of the funding issue and she is setting out that new funding will be available. Will she also set out a clear timeframe for that funding?

[Seema Malhotra]

I am happy for the hon. Lady to write to me to ask about the specifics because there are different funds, some of which are already deployed and some of which will continue in the future. If she would like to know more about specific funds, we can probably answer that.

It is also important to recognise that we are supporting efforts to strengthen governance and ensure that communities, including indigenous peoples, are part of that transition. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East for referencing the engagement and the rights of indigenous peoples.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Dyke and Seema Malhotra

Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that issue. He will be aware that we believe that no company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. He may also be aware that in the trade strategy, the Government launched a review of their approach to responsible business conduct policy. It is important that we continue to work together to ensure that we eradicate modern slavery from any of our supply chains.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

4. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of US foreign policy on Ukraine.