September 2020 In the wake of the fiercest storm Bangladesh has experienced this century, Japanese financial institutions and coal developers are trying to push three new coal power stations, fuelling extreme weather and climate change. Locals on remote Matarbari Island on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh are still dealing with … Read More
Choked by Coal: the Carbon Catastrophe in Bangladesh
New analysis shows China, UK and Japan driving 63-fold coal power expansion in Bangladesh Media Release: 6 November 2019 Massive coal-based power expansion in Bangladesh is set to propel it into the ranks of the world’s worst polluters, says a major new report out today. The expansion not only threatens … Read More
Japan-funded coal power project would cause 1,900 premature deaths in Vietnam
Right now, there are several Japanese-financed coal-fired power stations in the pipeline in Vietnam and across Asia — Van Phong 1 is a prime example of how dirty and polluting these projects can get. What does this highly-polluting technology mean for locals living in areas around the plant? The Greenpeace … Read More
Media release: Japan’s MUFG commits to end financing for new coal projects, NGOs call for further steps
16 May 2019 | Joint release: No Coal Japan Japanese and international environmental NGOs welcomed Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)’s release of its revised environmental and social policy framework, which now excludes finance to new coal power projects. Coming only days after Singapore’s three major banks also ended coal finance, … Read More
Japanese megabanks faced with international ad in the Financial Times
NGOs from Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and around the world have placed a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times today calling for Japanese megabanks – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and Mizuho Financial Group (Mizuho) – to stop funding coal power. MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho, along … Read More
Media release: Japanese Banks under international fire over Vietnamese coal finance
Tuesday 13 March 2018 An international coalition of civil society organisations has written to SMBC, Mizuho and MUFG, warning of the risks associated with financing the 1,200MW Nghi Son 2 coal-fired power plant in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam. The project is sponsored by Marubeni and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). SMBC, … Read More
The financial backers of Vietnam’s latest 3 power stations
Reuters is reporting that, with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc preparing to visit Japan, licences will be awarded on three proposed new coal-fired power stations that would be heavily backed by Japanese funding. The article does not name the plants, but Market Forces is aware that the three mentioned are Namh … Read More