Manila, 18 April 2007Greenpeace activists today constructed a
four-meter replica of a (smoke-spewing) coal plant at the main entrance
of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila.
The Bank has been under heavy criticism for its extensive funding of
fossil fuel projects in Asia which have massively contributed to the
region’s greenhouse gas emissions and abetted dangerous climate change.
The protest came two weeks ahead of the Bank’s Annual Governors Meeting
in Kyoto, birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally-binging
global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Bank should accept this coal plant as a graphic reminder of the
ADB’s role in funding climate change in Asia. Since the ADB continues to
finance the construction of a number of coal-fired power plants across
Asia, we are building one right at its doorsteps. Coal plants should not
be built here nor anywhere else, but because the Bank loves them so much
we are presenting them this gift said Jasper Inventor, Greenpeace
Climate and Energy Campaigner.
The most recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) has identified Asia as one of the regions most vulnerable to the
grave impacts of climate change. Among those who will be the worst
affected are Asia’s poorest nations. The report suggests that between
1.1 billion and 3.2 billion people will face water shortages and between
200 million and 600 million will confront hunger by 2080 as global
warming causes heat waves, fires, droughts and storms.
The ADB’s mission is to alleviate the plight of the poor in Asia. But,
by financing some of the most polluting, carbon-intensive, greenhouse
gas emitting power projects in Asia such as coal power plants, the ADB
is guilty of causing climate change and exacerbating poverty in the
region, said Inventor.
Fossil fuel energy sources are a major cause of climate change, with
coal being the most carbon-intensive and climate-damaging. The ADB,
however, has invested heavily in coal plants in Asia. In Thailand it
financed the gigantic 2400 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant in Mae Moh,
and another 1434 MW power plant in Rayong. In the Philippines, the Bank
directly financed the 600 MW Masinloc coal-fired power plant in Zambales
Province and helped finance the transmission lines for the 1200 MW Sual
coal plant.
The Bank’s coal investments continue. In 2006, the ADB has approved the
financing of two large coal projects in India: the 2,980 MW Sipat Super
Thermal Power Project and the 1,500 MW Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power
Project Stage II extension. It is looking at financing a 1,000 MW
coal-fired power plant in Vietnam and a coal mine in Phulbari,
Bangladesh that will displace over 50,000 people.
Asia’s emissions represent nearly one-quarter of the global greenhouse
gas emissions today compared to its previous one-tenth share in the
early 70s. This is due to the steep increase in the region’s energy
consumption, which grew by 230% in the period 1973 to 2003, compared to
the average 75% global increase.
Greenpeace asserts that global CO2 emission reductions of 50 percent by
2050 are required if we are to have a chance of preventing the worst
impacts of climate change. Such cuts are technically and economically
possible if we change the way we produce and use energy. What is lacking
is the right policy framework and real leadership by multilateral
institutions such as the ADB.
The ADB has the power to jumpstart an energy revolution in Asiaa
revolution that leaves behind climate-damaging fossil fuels and drives
the massive expansion of renewable energy and energy efficiency
programs. These are the real solutions that the ADB should support if it
truly wants to fight poverty and provide its member countries with
lasting energy security, said Inventor.
Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organization which uses
non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environment
problems, and to force the solutions which are essential to a green and
peaceful future.
For more information:
Jasper Inventor, Climate and Energy Campaigner, +63 917 300 9567
Lea Guerrero, Media Campaigner, +63 916 374 4969, +63 2 434 7034
ATTACHMENT LETTER TO ADB PRESIDENT AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
—
Lea Guerrero
Media Campaigner
Greenpeace Southeast Asia
tel: +63 2 434 7034
fax: +63 2 434 7035
mob: +63 916 374 4969
skype: leaguerrero
lea.guerrero@ph.greenpeace.org
****** INBOX is an archive of press releases, statements, announcements, letters to the editors, and manifestos sent to Davao Today for publication. Please email your materials to davaotoday@gmail.com. Davao Today reserves the right to edit or refuse material for publication. *****
