EduAsiaNews,Jakarta — The UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy (UN-PAGE) Indonesia, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), Universitas Indonesia, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), convened a Dialogue Session: The Strategic Role of Academia in Supporting the Implementation of the NDC and the Circular Economy Roadmap on Monday, 9 February 2026, at the UI Salemba Campus. The event served as a space for reflection as well as a testing ground for a critical question: to what extent has Indonesia’s scientific community truly played a role in driving the national green economic transition.
The Indonesian Circular Economy Roadmap 2025–2045 emphasizes that the circular economy is not merely about waste management, but rather a systemic transformation—minimizing resource use, extending product lifecycles, and reintegrating production and consumption residues into value chains. Within the national development framework, this approach is positioned as one of the key strategies for achieving a green economy and long-term sustainable development. According to Mahawan Karuniasa, Environmental Expert at Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia’s current challenge lies not in a lack of regulations, but in the gap between scientific knowledge and policy practice: “Our country already has a direction for transformation, but transformation does not occur automatically. It requires knowledge institutions that actively engage in decision-making processes.”
The discussion was grounded in a mapping of higher education institutions’ engagement within the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) framework and the circular economy agenda. The findings indicate that universities in Indonesia have undertaken numerous initiatives, ranging from research on waste management and recycled product design, to urban living labs, the development of zero-waste campuses, and serving as innovation hubs and government partners in policy formulation. However, these contributions remain fragmented and have not yet been fully integrated into NDC implementation. Consequently, the dialogue also promoted the establishment of a University Collaboration Center—a cross-regional network of universities collectively engaged in policy development, research, education, and concrete action. Karuniasa stressed that the Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi—education, research, and community service—should be viewed as instruments of public policy, rather than merely academic activities. “The NDC is not solely a government agenda; it is a social agenda. Without universities, climate policy will remain technocratic and difficult for society to embrace,” he stated.
More broadly, the urgency of this initiative is tied to global and national ecological realities. The linear take–make–dispose economic model has driven planetary crises, including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Indonesia alone is projected to generate 82 million tons of waste annually by 2045, with several landfills expected to exceed capacity in the near future. The circular economy offers a pathway to reduce these pressures while simultaneously supporting NDC emission reduction targets, as material management is directly linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, this dialogue addressed not only environmental issues, but also the governance of development itself. Karuniasa concluded with a reflective remark: “The green transition is ultimately a knowledge transition. If universities only produce publications without influencing policy, we will have abundant research but little change. This Dialogue Session is an effort to bridge the two, so that knowledge truly becomes action.
