Home > MUFG Shamelessly Backs Papua LNG: Join Us to Stop This Climate and Human Rights Disaster

MUFG Shamelessly Backs Papua LNG: Join Us to Stop This Climate and Human Rights Disaster

20 December 2024

MUFG, Japan’s largest bank and the world’s top LNG financier from 2021 to 2023, has brazenly stepped into the role of financial advisor for the controversial Papua LNG project. This venture, led by Total Energies, ExxonMobil, Santos, and ENEOS (JX Nippon), has already faced massive opposition, with 11 banks—including all major French and Australian financiers of its predecessor, PNG LNG—publicly refusing to finance it.

This rejection by major banks showcases the strength of collective action and underscores the overwhelming risks tied to Papua LNG: climate devastation, biodiversity loss, indigenous rights violations, and financial instability. Papua LNG’s lifetime Scope 3 emissions (emissions that would result from burning gas produced by the project) are estimated at a staggering 220 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent—equal to the annual emissions of Bangladesh, a nation of 169 million people.

It is critical now that we build on this momentum. Help us send a message to MUFG and the other two Japanese megabanks, SMBC and Mizuho, making it clear that any involvement with Papua LNG will result in public backlash.

Take action: Tell the Japanese megabanks to rule out financing for Papua LNG

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Tell the Japanese megabanks to rule out financing for Papua LNG

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Your message to Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC

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I am writing to urge your bank to publicly commit to ruling out financing for the Papua Liquefied Natural Gas (Papua LNG) project, led by TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Santos, and ENEOS (JX Nippon).

This project represents a significant threat to global efforts to combat climate change, biodiversity conservation, and the rights of indigenous communities. Its massive emissions potential, combined with the growing body of evidence showing the climate-destructive nature of LNG’s lifecycle emissions, makes it clear that Papua LNG is incompatible with the science-based pathways needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

The project has already faced widespread rejection from international financial institutions, with 11 major banks, including all French and Australian financiers of its predecessor, PNG LNG, refusing to provide support. This rejection reflects the profound risks associated with Papua LNG, which extend beyond environmental concerns to include financial and reputational damage for any institution involved.

Additionally, the project’s reported violations of international standards, such as the Equator Principles, raise serious questions about its ability to meet basic safeguards for the rights and well-being of indigenous communities in the impacted area.

I call on your bank to join the growing ranks of financial institutions taking decisive action to uphold climate, biodiversity, and human rights commitments by ruling out financing for Papua LNG. Furthermore, I urge you to strengthen your bank’s fossil fuel financing policies to ensure no new or expanded oil and gas projects are supported in the future.

Please ensure my concerns are escalated to the highest levels of your bank. I look forward to your response and action on this critical matter.

Sincerely,

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TOOK ACTION: Banks – Japanese megabanks Papua LNG – Dec 2024

Despite its lofty promises of achieving net-zero emissions, MUFG has no policies to rule out funding for new oil and gas projects. This glaring contradiction exposes the bank’s failure to align with science-based pathways to net zero and highlights its lag behind global peers in addressing climate risks.

The project has also been flagged for violating international standards, including the Equator Principles—commitments made by MUFG, and other Japanese megabanks (SMBC and Mizuho). Papua LNG threatens the rights of indigenous communities and endangers one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, home to critically endangered species.

At MUFG’s annual shareholder meeting in June, Market Forces CEO Will van de Pol raised questions about MUFG’s due diligence on fossil fuel projects. While the bank’s Chief Risk Officer claimed that financing is contingent on addressing social, environmental, and indigenous impacts, MUFG’s active involvement in Papua LNG reveals this promise to be nothing more than a box-ticking exercise.

Since September 2023, Market Forces and other civil society organisations have been urging MUFG and other Japanese megabanks to reject Papua LNG. In December, 50 organizations from Papua New Guinea and across the globe sent an open letter to potential financiers, including MUFG, demanding they stay out of the project. This week, another letter signed by 31 civil society groups reiterated this demand, calling on banks to publicly reject financing by January 10, 2025.

Please join us in holding MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho accountable for their role in funding climate destruction, biodiversity collapse, and violations of indigenous rights. Together, we can send a clear message: banks must stop enabling projects that undermine our planet and communities.

Image credit: 350 Japan