UPDATE: June 2022 On 22 June 2022, in a major victory for climate action and years of opposition by a global movement, Japan announced an end to funding of Matarbari Phase 2 coal power plant in Bangladesh. Following the announcement, the Bangladesh Government confirmed that it had cancelled plans to … Read More
Matarbari coal power plants: Sumitomo, Japanese companies threaten communities and climate in Bangladesh
UPDATE: June 2022 On 22 June 2022, in a major victory for climate action and years of opposition by a global movement, Japan announced an end to funding of Matarbari Phase 2 coal power plant in Bangladesh. Following the announcement, the Bangladesh Government confirmed that it had cancelled plans to … 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
Market Forces files complaint over Japanese banks’ coal lending breach of OECD guidelines
18 September 2018 Market Forces has made complaints against Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mizuho Financial Group (Mizuho) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) to the Japanese National Contact Point (NCP) today. The complaint alleges that the three banks have breached the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) through their conduct … Read More
Japanese bank policies rule out one third of overseas coal plant finance
Market Forces in the media RenewEconomy, 28 August 2018 Bernadette Maheandiran, Market Forces Legal Analyst In a major shift from some of the world’s largest funders of coal power, new policies should rule out financial support to a third of the coal-fired power stations currently under consideration by Japan’s three major … Read More
Bloomberg News: These three coal plants might not get Japan funds under new rules
Market Forces in the media By Chisaki Watanabe, Bloomberg News August 28, 2018 Asia, Africa projects fall short of guidelines: Market Forces Japanese banks have committed to funding less coal generation Three coal-fired power plants under consideration in Vietnam, Botswana and Mongolia supported by Japanese banks probably wouldn’t be eligible … Read More
Media release: New Japanese bank policies rule out a third of overseas coal plant finance
28 August 2018: New coal policies should rule out providing financial support to close to a third of the coal-fired power stations (by capacity) currently under consideration by Japan’s three major commercial banks, according to a new analysis released today by environmental finance group Market Forces. In implementing their new … 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