Center for International Environmental Law, USA • Friends of the Earth, USA • Greenpeace USA • Pacific Environment, USA • Rainforest Action Network, USA • The Sierra Club, USA • The Sunrise Project Australia • CASA Japan • Friends of the Earth Japan • Greenpeace Japan • JACSES • Kiko Network • WWF Japan • Liaison Committee to Protect the Green and Water of Kyoto • NPO Environment Tokushima Network • Renewable-Hydrogen-Network • Tokyo General Union, Tokyo College of Music Chapters • Wakayama Environmentalists Network August 27, 2013 Hiroshi Okuda Governor Japan Bank for International Cooperation By Email: kankyo-hairyo@jbic.go.jp, s-izuishi@jbic.go.jp Dear Mr. Okuda
Re: Thai Binh II Coal-Fired Power Plant, Vietnam
Through your website 1 we are aware that last week JBIC approved financing for the Thai Binh II coal- fired power plant in Thai Binh Province, Vietnam. We are writing to urge you to immediately review this decision and reject support for this ill-conceived coal plant. As you are surely aware, on July 18, 2013, the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) announced that it would not be providing financing for this project, due to violations of the agency's guidelines relating to high carbon intensity projects. The decision came after the release of President Obama's Climate Action Plan on June 25, 2013, in which President Obama committed to ending US financing for coal plants abroad except in extremely limited circumstances, as well as new energy strategies at the World Bank and European Investment Bank (EIB) to end funding for coal plants in all but a few rare circumstances. It is clear that the trend at international financial institutions is to move away from dirty and risky coal plants in favor of the booming renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. The U.S. Exim Bank decision, taken with policy changes at the World Bank and EIB, indicate there is a clear shift in energy lending that will impact coal financing more broadly, as well as the Thai Binh II plant specifically. The changes at the World Bank and EIB are also particularly pertinent for JBIC, given your institution's commitment in your social and environmental guidelines to use "as reference points or benchmarks, standards established by other international financial institutions, other internationally recognized standards and/or good practices established by developed countries such as Japan regarding environmental and social considerations." If JBIC is to comply with the letter and spirit of its social and environmental guidelines, and if it is to remain competitive in the global marketplace, it must move away from coal finance and towards renewable energy and energy efficiency investments. The Thai Binh II coal plant, which has already had financing rejected from U.S. Exim, would be a good first step. We therefore call upon JBIC to immediately review its decision to support the Thai Binh II coal plant in Vietnam and reconsider its support for coal projects globally, in line with emerging international benchmarks. Financing should instead be directed towards no-regrets investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Vietnam and regionally that can meet the country's energy needs while protecting the global climate and the health of local residents. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with you at your convenience, and would appreciate a response to this letter at the email addresses below. Sincerely, Niranjali Amerasinghe Center for International Environmental Law, US namerasinghe@ciel.org Karen Orenstein Friends of the Earth, USA korenstein@foe.org Kyle Ash Greenpeace USA Kyle.ash@greenpeace.org Doug Norlen Pacific Environment, USA dnorlen@pacificenvironment.org Amanda Starbuck Rainforest Action Network, USA astarbuck@ran.org John Coequyt The Sierra Club, USA john.coequyt@sierraclub.org Aviva Imhof The Sunrise Project Australia aviva@sunriseproject.org.au Mitsutoshi Hayakawa CASA QYJ06471@nifty.ne.jp Mayuko Yanai Friends of the Earth Japan yanai@foejapan.org Hisayo Takada Greenpeace Japan hisayo.takada@greenpeace.org Yuki Tanabe JACSES tanabe@jacses.org Kimiko Hirata Kiko Network khirata@kikonet.org Toyoyuki Kawakami Japan Representative of Rainforest Action Network toyo@ran.org Naoyuki Yamagishi WWF Japan yamagishi@wwf.or.jp Yoshitsugu Sasaki Liaison Committee to Protect the Green and Water of Kyoto ysasaki5687@yahoo.co.jp Isao Shimada NPO Environment Tokushima Network kantoku001@tv-naruto.ne.jp Haruyoshi Ebara Renewable-Hydrogen-Network haru@rh2.org Hiroshi Takahashi Tokyo General Union, Tokyo College of Music Chapters bruckner@parkcity.ne.jp Tatsuya Usui Wakayama Environmentalists Network wenet@vaw.ne.jp