Asian environmental groups strongly crliticize Korea Export-Import Bank support for overseas coal

Korea Times 9 September 2018

Google translation from Korean to English
http://www.hankookilbo.com/v/7d3d26c10397425cbe77b4f47f93a8fb

Asian environmental groups strongly crliticize Korea Export-Import Bank support for overseas coal

Environmental activists are protesting in front of the United Nations building in Bangkok, Thailand, where a further negotiation meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is being held on Wednesday. Bangkok: AFP

"Asia can not breathe because of Korea's coal fired power plant." "Korea should reduce coal - fired power generation.

At the UN office in Bangkok, Thailand, where negotiations were held to prepare detailed guidelines on the implementation of the 2015 Paris Convention on Climate Change, there were dozens of Asian environmental group activists including Japan's Friends of the Earth and WWF China Office. They criticized Korea, China, and Japan for their financial support for coal-fired power plants in Asia. "South Korea is one of the world's largest financial supporters of coal-fired power," said Bhadiy Dindinger, a member of the INSAF environmental group in India. "It has a huge impact on health damage and climate change."

Asian environmental groups have fallen short of criticizing Korea's public financial institutions because the level of environmental pollution of coal-fired power plants already in Asia is serious. According to the Climate Solutions, the Korea Export-Import Bank (KOTRA), which was completed in July 2012 through the Coal Bank financing project, has set the emission standards for SO2, NO2, There is criticism that residents are suffering from health damage due to loose emission allowance standards up to 10 times. It is pointed out that Cherubon 2, which was built by the Export-Import Bank of Korea last year, has also strengthened some standards such as nitrogen dioxide but it is not much smaller than the domestic standard. The same is true of the Bintan Unit 4 in Vietnam, which was completed this year.

The problem is that coal finance financing by domestic public financial institutions in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mongolia is underway, or about seven such projects are considering sub-critical or supercritical methods, It is a point. "In 2015, OECD countries' Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) agreed to discontinue financial support for coal-fired power, with the exception of ultra-critical technologies. "It is possible that Kohl Finance, which Korea's public financial institutions are pursuing, may violate this agreement."
BADADINKA, INSAF activist, is participating in the demonstration with a hand sign that criticizes the financial support of the Asian financial institution of the Korean financial institution in front of the UN building in Bangkok where the extra negotiation meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is held on July 7. Offering Climate Solutions

Korea is already known as a 'big hand' in the overseas coal finance market. According to a report by the Natural Resources Conservation Association (NRDC), an international environmental organization, the amount of investment and support for Korean coal-fired power projects by Korean public financial institutions from 2013 to 2015 is estimated at US $ 2 billion It is the fifth time after China, Japan, Germany and Russia. In terms of individual financial institutions, Korea International Trade Corporation and Export-Import Bank accounted for more than 90% of coal-fired power projects in the same period.

Attorney Lee Soo-young of Gifu Solution attended the meeting in Bangkok, saying, "Korea is receiving intensive criticism from local environmental groups because coal-fired power plant exports to Southeast Asia are active."

Eeyeonggyeong reporter scoopkoh@hankookilbo.com