Indonesia’s nickel smelters are powered by purpose-built coal-fired plants, which environmental activists say are causing illness, killing crops and polluting fish farms.
This rise in coal burning aligns with efforts to boost economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, including the slate of new coal-fired power plants that recently came online as well as the expansion of the nickel industry.
"We, ordinary people living in Nikel, are very happy. The air is fresh, leaves are green," says Tatiana Bazanova who has lived most of her adult life in what used to be one of Europe's most polluted towns.
A Nornickel-sponsored fast charger for electric vehicles opened on Thursday while sulphur dioxide concentrations spiked to 250 micrograms per cubic meter on the Norwegian side of the border.
