Skip to content
  • About
  • Partner with Us
  • Indonesia
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
Primary Menu
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Topics
  • News
  • Brief
  • Interview
  • Opinion
  • Figure
  • Infographic
  • Video
  • Community
  • Partner
  • Press Release
  • Youth
  • Global
  • Featured
  • Soft News

Hyundai, Drop Coal: BTS ARMY Indonesia and KPOP4PLANET urge against new coal plant

BTS ARMY Indonesia and KPOP4PLANET published an open letter and a campaign titled ‘Hyundai, Drop Coal!’ to urge Hyundai to drop the partnership with Adaro that plans to build a new 1.1 GW coal power plant in North Kalimantan, Indonesia.
by Abul Muamar April 3, 2023
a bts fan showing a poster that says ‘No BTS on A Dead Planet’

Photo: KPOP4PLANET.

The bond that forms and moves a community allows it to care, watch over, and criticize things related to what unites the people within it. Recently, BTS ARMY Indonesia and KPOP4PLANET published an open letter and a campaign titled ‘Hyundai, Drop Coal’ to Hyundai Motor Company, an automotive company from South Korea.

The open letter urges Hyundai to back out of a partnership with Adaro Minerals Indonesia. They plan to build a new coal plant in North Kalimantan with a 1.1 GW capacity as an energy source to produce aluminum as Hyundai’s raw material.

Hyundai and Adaro’s Partnership

In the last few years, the demand for aluminum has risen among automotive producers worldwide, along with the trend of ‘green’ vehicles. Like others, Hyundai also wants a stable supply of it. In November 2022, Hyundai signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Adaro to ensure this.

According to the MoU, Hyundai will be able to buy up to 100,000 tons of aluminum per year from Adaro. Adaro’s subsidiary, Kalimantan Aluminium Industry (KAI), will produce and supply the aluminum. There’s also an initial negotiation on a future purchase of KAI’s ‘low carbon aluminum’.

Hyundai plans to use these raw materials to produce its cars. The company also plans to claim the smelter as ‘environmentally friendly’ as it will be hydro-powered from the Kayan River. However, this hydro-power plant would only begin operations in 2029 while Adaro’s smelters remain using coal.

BTS ARMY Indonesia and KPOP4Planet: “Hyundai, Drop Coal”

The partnership with Adaro stands opposite Hyundai’s announcement in July 2021. As a part of RE100, Hyundai claimed a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 in its global operation. The company further popularize its ‘green’ reputation by snagging the group BTS as the brand ambassador for Ioniq, Hyundai’s electric car.

BTS ARMY Indonesia and KPOP4PLANET highlight this reputation to urge Hyundai to drop the Adaro partnership. They published an open letter and a petition as part of the ‘Hyundai, Drop Coal’ campaign.

“Hyundai is one of the brands we think of when we hear ‘environmentally friendly’, especially after our idols represented it. That’s why we urge Hyundai to stand by their principle and back out of the project that’s harmful to the environment and the local people,” said Nurul Sarifah, a KPOP4PLANET activist.

Sharon, a BTS ARMY Help Center Indonesia organizer, added, “We have seen and experienced firsthand the impacts of climate disasters: flood, air pollution, drought, and others. We don’t want the new coal plant to add to the list. We want to live on a healthy Earth and, as our idols say, become a welcome generation.”

Commitment and Consistency

Commitment to sustainability requires consistency in every step, policy, and action. Without it, it is merely a greenwashing tactic that harms many parties, including the perpetrators.

“It’s hypocritical for Hyundai to claim themselves as the leader in electric vehicles and buy aluminum produced with ‘dirty energy’. Hyundai’s plan to buy Adaro’s aluminum produced with energy from a new coal plant is a disaster for the climate. It can also weaken the company’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2045,” said Nabilla Gunawan, Market Forces Campaigner.

—

Translator: Nazalea Kusuma

Read the original article in Indonesian on Green Network Indonesia.


Subscribe to Green Network Asia
Strengthen your personal and professional development with cross-sectoral insights on sustainability-related issues and sustainable development across the Asia Pacific and beyond.
Select Your Subscription Plan
Abul Muamar
Editor at Green Network Asia | Website |  + postsBio

Amar is the Manager for Indonesian Digital Publications at Green Network Asia. He graduated from the Master of Philosophy program at Universitas Gadjah Mada and Bachelor of Communication Science at Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. He has more than ten years of professional experience in journalism as a reporter and editor for several national-level media companies in Indonesia.

  • Abul Muamar
    https://greennetwork.asia/author/abulmuamar/
    GEF Approves Funding for Biodiversity Conservation Projects in Indonesia
  • Abul Muamar
    https://greennetwork.asia/author/abulmuamar/
    Indonesia-UN Collaboration to Support Job Creation and Social Protection
  • Abul Muamar
    https://greennetwork.asia/author/abulmuamar/
    Looking into Indonesia’s Plastic Recycling and Collection System
  • Abul Muamar
    https://greennetwork.asia/author/abulmuamar/
    The Structural Issue Behind Indonesia’s Low Reading Interest

Continue Reading

Previous: Neurodiversity Movement: Embracing Autism Acceptance & Inclusion
Next: Tackling Hate Speech Through Safe and Inclusive Education Systems

Related Stories

figure of houses and pipes that emit smoke GRI’s Updated Sustainability Standards on Climate Change and Energy
  • Exclusive
  • Featured
  • Soft News

GRI’s Updated Sustainability Standards on Climate Change and Energy

by Kresentia Madina July 3, 2025
Charcoal chip and charcoal ashes. Looking into Biochar as a Bioremediation Agent
  • Featured
  • Soft News

Looking into Biochar as a Bioremediation Agent

by Ayu Nabilah July 2, 2025
a tuvalu flag Australian Climate Visa for Citizens of Tuvalu: Showcasing cross-border partnership in light of the climate crisis
  • Featured
  • Soft News

Australian Climate Visa for Citizens of Tuvalu: Showcasing cross-border partnership in light of the climate crisis

by Kresentia Madina July 1, 2025
Small Islands in the middle of Raja Ampat seas Nickel Mining in Raja Ampat and the Widespread Cost of Natural Resource Exploitation
  • Featured
  • Soft News

Nickel Mining in Raja Ampat and the Widespread Cost of Natural Resource Exploitation

by Andi Batara June 30, 2025
blue refugee tent Lumbung Sosial: Challenges and Opportunities of Indonesia’s Social Barn Program
  • Exclusive
  • Featured
  • Soft News

Lumbung Sosial: Challenges and Opportunities of Indonesia’s Social Barn Program

by Kesya Arla June 27, 2025
a ladybug perched on a flower A Worrying State of Insect Decline
  • Featured
  • Soft News

A Worrying State of Insect Decline

by Kresentia Madina June 26, 2025

About Us

  • GNA CEO’s Letter
  • GNA In-House Team
  • GNA Author Network
  • GNA Press Release Guidelines
  • GNA Op-ed Article Guidelines
  • GNA Community Content Guidelines
  • GNA Internship
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
© 2021-2025 Green Network Asia