Rising Japanese demand for energy biomass is stimulating wood-pellet and wood-chip production in Indonesia, while environmental groups warn that expansion is contributing to tropical forest loss. Pellet imports from Indonesia rose by more than 500 per cent between 2023 and 2025, from 66,460 tonnes to 402,310 tonnes, according to trade data relayed by Associated Press and Auriga Nusantara.

Japan imported a record 8.64 million tonnes of pellets in total in 2025. Timer Manurung, director of Auriga Nusantara, called biomass “a new driver of deforestation”, with most Indonesian output destined for export and Japan the largest destination. The analysis, with Earth Insight and the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago, refers to at least 45 concessions covering more than 750,000 hectares of natural forest.

Biomass is often classed as renewable because trees can be replanted. The calculation becomes harder when natural forests are replaced by plantations, carbon is released immediately through burning, and regrowth takes years. Shipping and processing add emissions. Japanese subsidies for already certified projects can continue for up to 20 years after plants start operating, even if new large projects no longer receive the same support.

Critics point to risks for biodiversity and Indigenous communities, including in Gorontalo. Japanese agencies, in replies quoted by the press, have not accepted a proven link between Indonesian pellets and deforestation. Silence or denial does not close the debate on traceability.

For biomass to count towards climate goals, the origin of the wood, protection of natural forests and the carbon balance across the whole chain are essential. A “renewable” label does not automatically mean no effect on the forest.

The figures of 402,310 tonnes and 8.64 million tonnes refer to 2025, not a quarter of 2026. This article presents the groups’ analysis and import data, not a court finding about a particular mill.

Image: tropical forest / Wikimedia Commons. Not an Indonesian biomass concession. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Japan's biomass energy boom | Associated Press; Auriga Nusantara; Earth Insight.