Ketut Mangku Wijana, et al. vs. Governor of Bali, et al., Administrative Court of Denpasar, No. 2/G/LH/2018/PTUN.DPS (Indonesia)

Plaintiffs challenged an environmental permit issued for the Celukan Bawan Coal-Fired Power Plant expansion in Bali, Indonesia. The plaintiffs argued that neither the project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) nor the governor of Bali’s decision took climate change impacts into account. In their view, the climate and atmosphere should form part of the environment. They contended that project impacts on the climate system should be treated as significant environmental impacts, which the EIA should consider. The plaintiffs maintained that the EIA should evaluate how the project’s predicted carbon emissions would affect Indonesia’s national carbon emissions. Such modeling would enable the government to test whether the project aligned with Indonesia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Given Bali’s vulnerability to rising sea levels, the plaintiffs also argued that the EIA should assess the impact of sea level rise and storm surge on local businesses and activities. Experts supporting the plaintiffs submitted an amicus curiae brief, inviting the court to consider international best practices. Experts cited Earthlife Africa Johannesburg vs. the Minister of Environmental Affairs where the High Court of South Africa directed the government to consider a climate change impact assessment report for a proposed 1,200-MW coal-fired power station.

However, the court dismissed the case. It held the petitioners lacked legal standing and considered that new technology would be able to “mitigate the risk of pollution.”