Jakarta, October 20, 2026 — The Indonesian government welcomed Greenpeace’s installation of two giant banners in Central Jakarta, saying it respected the right to freedom of expression while stressing that it was continuing to address the concerns raised by the environmental group.
On Tuesday morning, Greenpeace activists unfurled the banners at the Welcome Monument in the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. One read, “Take Action on the Climate Crisis, Bring Down the Cost of Living,” while the other declared, “Disasters Are Rising, People Are Struggling, What Is the Government Doing?”
The banners, installed to coincide with the second anniversary of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, were removed by police officers several hours later.
“The government respects Greenpeace’s action as an exercise of freedom of expression, and President Prabowo Subianto has also taken note of concerns over the climate crisis and the cost of living,” Government Communication Agency Head Syahganda Nainggolan said.
He further added that the government had taken extensive measures to address both issues.
On the climate crisis, Syahganda cited the government’s efforts to tackle forest and land fires, which have affected parts of Indonesia, particularly Sumatra and Kalimantan.
He said the President had taken direct charge of the response and ordered an additional Rp760 billion (USD 42.27 million) in contingency funding to tackle fires in seven affected provinces and 35 regencies and cities.
The government was also pursuing stricter law enforcement and harsher penalties for those responsible, Syahganda said, adding that Prabowo had called for such offenses to be classified as “ecological terrorism”.
On the cost of living, Syahganda said the government had prepared several social protection measures to safeguard purchasing power amid the risk of rising household expenses due to global economic uncertainty.
These include a second-semester economic stimulus package worth Rp26.34 trillion (USD 1.46 billion), featuring a food assistance program providing 10 kilograms of rice for 33.24 million beneficiaries to help meet their food needs, particularly among lower-income households.
The government had also decided to keep subsidized fuel prices unchanged and distribute an additional 1 million tons of subsidized rice to help curb food price volatility.
Syahganda acknowledged that there was still room for improvement in the government’s response to the climate crisis and its efforts to protect purchasing power. He added that the government, therefore, welcomed public input and recommendations.
“We recognize that there is still work to be done, so we invite Greenpeace to continue providing data and recommendations to the relevant ministries to help guide improvements,” Syahganda said.
