Stopping coal financing for Indonesian coal plants is crucial in the fight against climate change

(Friends of the Earth Japan, 17 November 2016, Tokyo) Within the next couple of months, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will decide whether to fund two giant dirty coal-fired power plants in Indonesia. These power plants will have a total capacity of 3000 Megawatts. They are the Cirebon 2 coal-fired power plant is in West Java and the Tanjung Jati B coal-fired power plant is in Jepara, Central Java. Six months ago, JBIC approved funding for one of Southeast Asia’s largest coal-fired power plants in Batang in Central Java, which is already having terrible negative social and environmental impacts, and will make a massive contribution to climate change. French Bank Crédit Agricole also wants to join JBIC in funding the coal power plant in Cirebon and the Tanjung Jati B power plant. This is in spite of a very recent public commitment made by Crédit Agricole to stop providing finance to new coal plants. Civil society groups from across the world, including Friends of the Earth France, Banktrack and Oxfam France, have criticized the double standards of Crédit Agricole in making new climate commitments a few weeks before COP22 in Marrakech, whilst continuing with its coal finance business as usual. They argue Crédit Agricole must not finance these two damaging power plants.