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2018 May 16 - 22 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Indonesian civil group: Japan should not fund coal-fired power plant in their country

May 16, 2018
May 16, 2018

A group of Indonesians opposing a plan to construct a new unit at a coal-fired thermal power plant in their country on May 15 held a press conference in the Environment Ministry building in Tokyo to demand that a Japanese government-funded bank not fund the project.

The petitioners from Indonesia included local environmental NGO members and a lawyer who works with local residents fighting a court battle to stop the construction of an additional unit at the Cirebon thermal power plant in West Java.

Indonesia’s carbon-intensive project received a loan of 7.3 million dollars in November 2017 from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), an organization that is financed by the Japanese government. Japan’s major trading house Marubeni also plays an important role in the construction project.

At the press conference, Meiki Paendong of the environment group Indonesian Forum for Environment said that soot and dust discharged from the power plant have polluted the sea and as a result caused severe damage to local salt farming and fishing, stressing that the JBIC should withdraw its funding of the construction project.

After the press briefing, the Indonesian activists visited the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which will also finance the project and submitted a written statement demanding that the Japanese government-affiliated organization pull out of the project.

Past related articles:
> Indonesian group asks JCP for cooperation in efforts to oppose Japan-funded thermal power generation [December 6 & 8, 2017]
> Don’t use taxpayer money for coal-fired energy projects abroad: environmental NGOs [February 16, 2014]
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