According to the verdict, they had violated the country’s environmental protection laws, where top officials were asked to establish a national standard for ambient air quality, among other measures.
Jakarta, home to more than 10.5 million people, is consistently among the worst cities in the world due to air pollution.
“We hope all defendants will accept this verdict, because they also live here,” Aqsa said. “We hope they will comply with this verdict by executing all points through their action and strategic planning.”
Defendant’s attorney, who was not present in court Thursday, declined to comment on the verdict when he contacted CNN.
He cited asthma, skin problems and the case of a plaintiff who developed an upper respiratory tract infection after moving to the city.
Citizens claimed that the government had negligently fulfilled its obligations in managing Jakarta’s air pollution and that it had not fulfilled the right of residents to clean air.
“We don’t all have the same sensitivities, but there are those who experience health problems related to the dirty air we breathe,” Simanjuntak said.
Smoke suffocation
Air pollution is often measured by the concentration of microscopic PM2.5 particles containing contaminants such as sulfate, nitrates, and black carbon. They are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, and premature death.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is established the standard for PM2.5 in safe ambient air quality at 10 micrograms per cubic meter. In Indonesia, the national security standard set by the government is 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
But in Jakarta, readings regularly exceed both levels, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 39.6 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the IQAir report.
Citizens challenge the government
Yuyun Ismawati, co-founder of environmental group Nexus3 Foundation, said she joined the lawsuit after getting fed up with the city’s bad air.
“This citizen demand is for me to stand up and defend the right to health for all, especially for children and for their future,” he said.
She said her two-year-old grandson had shown symptoms of skin eczema after sitting on the balcony of his 15th-floor apartment in central Jakarta.
“The doctor said we should try to reduce my grandson’s exposure to the outdoors,” he added. “That’s ridiculous because the sun is supposed to be good for you, but you can’t be outside because of the air?”
Prior to the resolution, Yuyun and other activists said they hoped a judicial victory would pressure the government to comply with national air quality standards in Jakarta.
He also said they wanted local and national governments to apply environmental safeguards, establish strict regulations on coal-fired power plants and be transparent in air pollution policies.
Greenpeace’s Simanjuntak said it was almost impossible to avoid being affected by bad air when traveling on the roads of Jakarta. “Even a mask couldn’t protect you,” he said.
Prior to the sentencing, he said he hoped the trial would force the government to devote resources to making Jakarta’s air more breathable.
“What we demand is a comprehensive policy reform in terms of the regulatory framework, that higher ambient air quality standards based on WHO standards should be adopted,” Simanjuntak dit.
“I respectfully understand that the failure of Indonesian governments to improve outdoor air quality in Jakarta, especially when they have not acted with the necessary degree of urgency and diligence in the face of prolonged and persistent overruns of air quality standards air, constitutes a violation of the constitutional right to a good and healthy environment, ”he wrote.
The efforts did not go far enough
When the lawsuit was filed in July 2019, the government denied that the city’s air quality had deteriorated and urged the media not to “dramatize” the situation.
Irvan Pulungan, the Jakarta governor’s climate change envoy, said the government had been trying to improve the city’s air quality for the past two years.
He said that after filing the lawsuit, the Jakarta regional government passed numerous regulations, including the installation of solar panels on government buildings, testing vehicle emissions, improving public transportation infrastructure, developing of bicycle lanes and the promotion of the use of public transport.
But the plaintiffs said those efforts did not go far enough. They said Jakarta’s air pollution also comes from the city’s borders, industrial facilities and coal plants in neighboring provinces and satellite cities.
Therefore, they also sued the governors of the neighboring provinces of Banten and West Java and Widodo.
But the response from provincial governors and the national government had been minimal and disappointing, the plaintiffs said.
Prior to the resolution, Yuyun said he hoped the victory of the judiciary would be more than symbolic and that the resolution would give priority to local and national governments in action against air pollution.
“I am advocating for children’s ecological rights for my grandson and for all children who will have to continue to deal with this poor air quality,” he said. “Adults are responsible for their quality of life.”