Over 50 Japanese and international NGOs have posted a full-page open letter in the Financial Times and Yomiuri Shimbun, urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen measures against climate change and move away from coal-fired power.
Last September, Prime Minister Abe wrote an op ed in the Financial Times (September 24, 2018), calling on the world’s people to “become with Japan to save the planet,” showing a willingness to lead on the issue of climate change.
However, Japan continues to promote the construction of coal-fired thermal power plants at home and abroad, inviting serious criticism from the international community. Just last week, Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) approved a $1.2 billion loan for the Van Phong 1 Coal-Fired Power Project in Vietnam.
Currently, the Japanese government is developing a long-term strategy on climate change, which provides an important opportunity to show true leadership towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In the Financial Times and Yomiuri Shimbun open letter, over 50 organizations called on Prime Minister Abe “to demonstrate true leadership: stop building new coal plants in Japan, end Japan’s public finance for coal overseas, and commit to a rapid coal phase out.”
The international community is demanding that Prime Minister Abe heed his own call to save our planet.