NICKEL - Green Capitalism, Green Colonialism, Green is The New Black, Literally and Politically (Part 2)
Green Capitalism : Jualan Solusi, Tapi Demi Profit
Dulu:
"Ayo bakar batubara, ini masa depan!"
Sekarang:
"Ayo pakai EV, ini masa depan!"
That's what may happen today. IT IS FUTURE, they called. But...
Mobilnya tetap dijual dengan margin tinggi
Energinya tetap dari batubara (di negara berkembang)
Profit tetap dinikmati elite global & investor besar
What has changed? The only LABEL being “green”
(green is the new black, literally and politically).
Is that real? Let's take a look!
Karena sekarang batubara udah mulai 'dosa' secara global, mereka cari komoditas baru:
Kobalt, lithium → untuk kapasitor EV
Tembaga, rare earth → untuk energi surya & angin
Bukan karena mereka peduli bumi, tapi karena ini “komoditas masa depan” yang bisa mereka kuasai lebih dulu.
Green capitalism refers to the idea that the principles of capitalism can be leveraged to achieve environmental sustainability and address climate change. It suggests that market mechanisms and private sector innovation can drive the transition to a more sustainable economy, rather than relying solely on government intervention or radical systemic changes.
Realitas Ironi - Green but Dirty
1. Produksi baterai EV butuh energi… dari batubara
Smelter nikel di Indonesia (IWIP, IMIP, dll.) mayoritas pakai PLTU batubara sendiri (captive coal plant).
Artinya: Untuk bikin mobil listrik yang bebas emisi di Eropa, Indonesia ngebakar batubara duluan buat olah nikel-nya.
Emisi karbon dari batubara
Kerusakan ekologis dari tambang
2. Over-eksploitasi nikel
Cadangan nikel Indonesia bisa habis dalam 20–30 tahun kalau laju ekstraksi sekarang diteruskan.
Padahal nikel itu tidak terbarukan.
Tambangnya menghancurkan:
Hutan hujan tropis (rainforest)
Keanekaragaman hayati (endemik di Maluku, Sulawesi)
Tanah adat masyarakat lokal
➡️ Demi "energi bersih", kita habisin sumber daya tak terbarukan sambil buang masyarakat dari tanahnya sendiri.
Negara-negara maju mendorong mobil listrik & net zero, tapi tetap mengimpor bahan mentah dari negara berkembang.
Produksi kotor disubkontrakkan ke negara seperti Indonesia, Kongo, Chile.
Padahal: Mobil listrik Tesla itu “bersih” di Amerika, tapi “kotor” di Halmahera dan Morowali.
➡️ Ini bukan transisi energi, tapi eksternalisasi dosa industri ke Selatan Global.
Nickel & Green Capitalism
The correlation between nickel and green capitalism is both strategic and paradoxical — nickel is essential for the green energy transition, but its extraction is deeply embedded in the very capitalist structures that the green movement often critiques.
Let’s break this down clearly:
1. Nickel: The Green Mineral Backbone
Nickel is a critical mineral for green technologies:
🔋 EV batteries (especially NMC-type batteries: Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt)
🛠️ Alloys for wind turbines, solar panels, clean tech machinery
The global push for Net-Zero by 2050 means massive demand for nickel — the IEA projects demand may quadruple by 2040.
2. Green Capitalism: Profit Meets Sustainability
Green capitalism refers to:
Using market forces and profit incentives to push sustainable tech.
Private and public sectors making green transitions profitable, not just ethical.
Nickel is central to this model:
🌍 Tesla, BYD, VW, etc., need nickel for their EVs — a billion-dollar business
🌱 Companies & countries race to secure nickel for carbon credit gains, ESG scores, and green portfolios
📈 Investors pile into nickel mining, smelters, and battery supply chains
3. The Paradox: Is It Really Green?
While nickel enables "green" products, its extraction often:
🚧 Destroys forests (e.g., in Sulawesi and Papua)
⚠️ Pollutes rivers and coastlines
🤝 Exploits local labor with low value returned to host nations
❗“Green on the surface, extractive at the core.”
Green capitalism depends on intensive resource extraction, often in Global South countries like Indonesia — raising ethical questions.
4. Circular Economy & Nickel Recycling: A Bridge Forward
Green capitalism can evolve through:
♻️ Nickel recycling industries: recovering nickel from old batteries
🌿 Low-carbon mining technologies
📜 Transparent supply chains with ethical sourcing
This is where Indonesia can lead, not just follow.
Nickel is the fuel for green dreams — but whether that dream becomes just or extractive depends on how capitalism evolves.
Indonesia, as the world’s largest nickel producer, stands at the heart of this tension — between being a resource colony or a global player in ethical green industry.
Indonesia - Main Player/Neo-Colonialism for Nickel Industry (?)
"Green colonialism" refers to the exploitation of the Global South's resources and labor by the Global North under the guise of environmental initiatives and the transition to a green economy. This concept highlights how seemingly eco-friendly practices can perpetuate colonial power dynamics and harm marginalized communities."
Kondisi Indonesia saat ini dalam konteks colonialism nikel bisa dibilang sedang berada di titik kritis—antara peluang emas untuk bangkit atau terus terjebak dalam skema neo-kolonialisme hijau.
Here is the differences...
🗨️ “Indonesia holds the key to the world’s electric future — not in Silicon Valley, but deep in the earth beneath Sulawesi.”
— Indonesia's strategic position in the EV era
🗨️ “We are not poor. We are just not in control.”
— A reflection on how abundant mineral resources don't automatically create wealth
🗨️ “You can sell your soil once. But you can build your future forever.”
— A call to build downstream industries, not just extract raw materials
🗨️ “The new oil is not petroleum — it's nickel, cobalt, and lithium. Indonesia is sitting on a global treasure.”
— Global energy analysts on Indonesia’s role in battery supply chains
🗨️ “A nation that mines for the world must also mine for its people.”
— Reminder that wealth must return to communities and the next generation
Fakta Ironis - Indonesia Masih Impor Nikel
1. Impor Kelas Nikel Tertentu
Indonesia memang kaya akan nikel laterit, tapi jenis ini lebih cocok untuk produksi NPI (nickel pig iron) atau feronikel.
Tapi untuk baterai EV, kita butuh nickel sulfat atau nickel kelas 1 (≥99,8% purity), yang belum banyak diproduksi di dalam negeri.
Karena itu, beberapa pabrik di Indonesia masih impor nikel sulfat atau campuran logam dari luar untuk produksi baterai.
2. Kebutuhan Industri Lebih Cepat dari Hilirisasi
Pabrik baterai, prekursor, dan katoda yang dibangun (seperti di Morowali, Halmahera, Karawang) butuh bahan baku lebih cepat dan lebih bersih dari yang bisa disediakan lokal.
Proses dari tambang → bahan baku baterai itu panjang dan mahal. Indonesia masih membangun semua rantai nilai itu.
3. Masalah Kualitas & Teknologi
Pabrik pengolahan dalam negeri banyak yang masih di level smelter tahap awal, bukan refiner lanjutan.
Beberapa investor belum yakin teknologi lokal bisa hasilkan kualitas ekspor tinggi, jadi lebih nyaman impor bahan yang sudah semi-processed.
📊 Contoh: Industri Baterai
PT HKML Battery Indonesia (Hyundai–LG) di Karawang, sebagian bahan katoda-nya masih diimpor dari Korea Selatan dan Tiongkok, meskipun nikel mentahnya dari Indonesia.
Kita? Bukan.
Yang bodoh adalah sistem yang:
Menukar karbon dengan logam langka
Menyebut eksploitasi berlapis sebagai inovasi
Mengorbankan hutan dan manusia untuk nyalain mobil tanpa knalpot
Tapi kalau kita tahu, paham, dan tetap diam — ya kita ikut bodoh juga.
Kapitalisme Modern: Mesin Tanpa Rem
Perusahaan gak boleh “cukup”, harus selalu “tumbuh”.
Gak ada “stabil”, harus naik terus → revenue, laba, valuasi.
Kalau laba turun? Dipecat CEO-nya, anjlok sahamnya, PHK karyawannya.
Uang bukan cuma alat. Ia udah jadi ukuran nilai hidup, harga manusia, bahkan "tiket dianggap penting".
Ketika greed menjadi sistem, dan uang jadi tuhan diam-diam.
Bro, what I'm really afraid of is human greed.
A company's profit has to go up every year, no matter what damage is done behind the scenes.
People justify anything just to keep their power or status as "the rich ones" — money talks again.
In the end, humans can't live without money either.
And when a company's profit goes down, it usually cuts wages or jobs first.
Sometimes, being human feels like being stuck — like whatever we do, it's wrong.
So what should we really do, bro?
Jalan Keluar: Reformasi Strategis
Bangun ekosistem riset & refining sendiri → Tidak hanya tambang & smelter, tapi lab, engineer, dan SDM.
Dorong investasi di pengolahan kelas tinggi → Jangan cuma NPI/Feronikel, tapi juga nickel sulfat & precursors.
Perkuat kontrol nasional atas rantai produksi → Jangan semua dikendalikan perusahaan asing.
Transparansi data & perdagangan → Banyak kontrak jangka panjang yang tidak publik, sulit dikoreksi.
Lo manusia, bukan mesin laba.
Hidup bukan soal menang sendiri, tapi soal ngasih makna tanpa ngerusak yang lain.