Japan Press Weekly

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2021 January 6 - 12 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Young eco-activists protest against gov’t-funded bank’s decision to finance coal-fired power plant project in Vietnam

A Japanese youth climate movement, “Fridays For Future Japan”, on January 5 issued a statement protesting against the government-funded Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)’s decision to finance a project to construct coal-fired power plants in Ha Tinh Province in north central Vietnam.

The FFFJ statement criticizes the JBIC for making a decision which conflicts with the responsibility of Japan to realize a carbon-free society as a signatory state to the Paris Agreement. This statement obtained support from the world famous Swedish climate activist and initiator of the Fridays for Future movement, Greta Thunberg.

On the following day, a group of nine young climate leaders sent a letter of protest to the JBIC. In the letter, they demanded that the government-funded bank explain why it thinks that the coal-fired power plant project in Vietnam does not run counter to the Paris Agreement which Japan and Vietnam ratified. The letter also asks the JBIC about its view on Prime Minister Suga’s determination to seek a carbon-free Japan. Similar letters were also sent to the project operator Mitsubishi Corporation and Japan’s three megabanks (the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) which plan to fund the project.

The JBIC at the end of 2020 decided to provide 1.8 billion dollars (roughly 180 billion yen) in financial support to the project. Meanwhile, according to international environmental NGOs, British and Singaporean banks announced their decision to cancel their original plan to provide a loan to the project following the spread of withdrawal from coal-fired power generation across the globe.

Past related articles:
> Japanese youth want to participate in gov't policymaking process on climate control [December 17, 2020]
> 127 global environmental NGOs urge Japanese banks to withdraw from coal-fired power plant project in Vietnam [May 28, 2020]