By Hasya Nindita and Zhaoyin Feng
This article was submitted as part of the Global Voices Climate Justice fellowship, which pairs journalists from Sinophone and Global Majority countries to investigate the effects of Chinese development projects abroad. Find more stories here.
Southeast Asia is rapidly becoming a key player in the electric car (EV) industry. Other than rapid growth in EV sales and high projected market value, the region has also attracted major investments in battery and component manufacturing, turning it into a crucial hub in the global supply chain. Governments in the region have introduced supportive policies to clear the way for electric cars, to help fulfill their climate goals. However, the EV revolution has also prompted public debates about the complex trade-offs involving environmental, social, and economic consequences.
EVs have clear positive impacts on the environment, public health, and energy security. Compared to traditional gas vehicles, EVs produce less noise pollution when driving, which is particularly relevant to the populated megacities in the region. Additionally, EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, significantly reducing air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other harmful particulate matter from exhaust that cause smog and respiratory illnesses.
EVs also do not emit carbon dioxide (CO₂) while driving, and the lifetime carbon emissions of electric cars (including those created during their manufacturing and recycling processes) are nearly four times less than those of gasoline cars. As transportation accounts for 20–25 percent of global CO₂ emissions, the adoption of EVs can significantly reduce carbon footprint and help countries reach their goals on climate change.
A steady transition to EVs also provides more energy security and increases resilience to fuel supply disruptions, which is highly relevant to Southeast Asia, as many countries in the region heavily depend on imported oil.
China has emerged as the most important partner for Southeast Asia’s EV adoption, as Chinese EV brands have quickly gained dominance in the markets and started to produce cars or auto parts in local plants. For the Chinese carmakers, Southeast Asia is strategically important, given its abundance of natural resources, policy incentives, and massive growth potential in domestic markets. At the same time, Chinese EVs facilitate Southeast Asia’s green transportation transition by offering relatively affordable cars, creating job opportunities in the sector, and integrating the region into the global EV supply chain.
Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman of the China EV100, a Chinese think tank aimed at boosting the development of the EV industry, said:By 2024, mining resulted in 174 ha (roughly 450 acres) of deforestation across the cluster of islands, according to analysis of satellite imagery by environmental NGO Auriga Nusantara.
Raja Ampat, part of the Coral Triangle that makes up the “Amazon of the Seas,” is known for its untouched natural beauty and has one of the richest coral reefs on Earth. The Indigenous community that lives there is worried that the nickel rush will have devastating impacts on the vulnerable ecosystem, as well as their traditional livelihoods and unique culture.
While EVs will undoubtedly play a crucial role in decarbonizing transport, there are trade-offs regarding the production process. The extraction of nickel, an essential component of EV batteries, is often at the center of debates and concerns. +Indonesia’s nickel sector is a prime example. The country is home to the world’s largest nickel reserve, totaling 5.2 billion tons of ore and 57 million tons of metal, equivalent to 42 percent of the world’s nickel reserves. As global demand for nickel ramps up, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that Indonesia will supply almost two-thirds of the world’s metal needs by 2030, but increased mining activities have raised ecological and social concerns within the country.
In recent years, there have been allegations of human rights and land rights abuses, as well as deforestation and water contamination linked to nickel mining in Indonesia. Footage captured by the environmental organization Global Witness seemingly shows how nickel mining has destroyed forests and polluted the water in the Raja Ampat archipelago, a group of small islands located in West Papua, Indonesia.
By 2024, mining resulted in 174 ha (roughly 450 acres) of deforestation across the cluster of islands, according to analysis of satellite imagery by environmental NGO Auriga Nusantara.
Raja Ampat, part of the Coral Triangle that makes up the “Amazon of the Seas,” is known for its untouched natural beauty and has one of the richest coral reefs on Earth. The Indigenous community that lives there is worried that the nickel rush will have devastating impacts on the vulnerable ecosystem, as well as their traditional livelihoods and unique culture.
“I really, really hope that mining doesn’t come,” said Mary Mambrasar, a local villager told Global Voices. “The ocean, the coral will be destroyed, I can’t imagine how we will live… And the water? It comes from the mountains, and the mountains will be the first to go.”
“If the [nickel] company comes, then these sacred sites will be lost. It will be just memories.” Lindert Mambrasar, a local fisherman, told Global Witness, referring to a beach that is considered a sacred place by the locals.
After public pressure, the Indonesian government revoked licences for four of the five mining companies operating in Raja Ampat this June. However, local campaigners say illegal mining activities persist in small islands across the country.
Another NGO, the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, has highlighted public health and environmental risks in the nickel supply chains in Indonesia and the Philippines. Fishermen find it increasingly difficult to make a living as many of the local fish populations have been reduced due to pollution and habitat destruction. Local residents experience respiratory issues and eye irritation because of air pollution. Industrial wastewater pollutes the villages’ waterways, which they rely on to irrigate crops.
Complaints about pollution, waste management, and workplace risks have also piled up in the largest nickel-processing center in Southeast Asia, the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP). Labor abuses and work safety scandals have long loomed over the plant, while in the surrounding villages, the old livelihoods are replaced, as polluted water has damaged the fishing industry and forced many young villagers to switch from fishing to mining.
Lestari, a local elementary school teacher, told local media:
Experts note that while foreign investment in the nickel sector creates economic opportunities, the benefits are distributed unevenly, favoring only those with certain qualifications. “The local communities may not benefit from the nickel industry because of a lack of skills,” Bhima Yudhistira, researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta, told Asia Democracy Chronicles.
IMIP is just one of many Chinese-backed projects in Indonesia’s nickel sector. Chinese firms now control about 75 percent of Indonesia's nickel refining capacity, according to global security NGO C4ADS.
The dominance of Chinese companies in Indonesia’s nickel industry and the region’s EV market has prompted concerns about supply chain control and industrial overdependence. Some ask whether Indonesia is in the driver’s seat of its own EV revolution, or merely a passenger.
Critics warn that though the Southeast Asian country is viewed as a booming EV market and a source of raw materials, it is not reaping the benefits as an equal partner.
“If there is no technology transfer between the two countries, and Indonesia only receives manufacturing without understanding electric vehicle design, battery technology, and so on, then we will always be a market country, not a strategic partner,” Tauhid Ahmad, a senior economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, told Indonesian media outlet Kompas.
As Chinese EV brands dominate the Southeast Asian markets, concerns are growing that they could stifle the region’s own EV industry, which largely remains in its early stage of development. Evvy Kartini, a battery technology expert from Indonesia’s National Battery Research Institute, said:
In contrast, some argue that the tech transfer will happen over time. Xu Haidong, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, tells Chinese state-owned media Xinhua that as China’s well-developed EV ecosystem incorporates Southeast Asia, it will help local automotive industries adopt new technologies at a lower cost, thereby enhancing their competitiveness.
