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Fridays For Future Bangladesh and the Climate Justice Project of Fridays For Future Japan.

As the climate crisis worsens, why are Sumitomo Corporation and JICA building coal-fired power plants in Bangladesh on a scale that would be unacceptable in Japan? Please sign this petition to stop the coal-fired power project that is causing human rights abuses and environmental destruction!

Currently, Sumitomo Corporation and other Japanese companies are constructing a coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This project not only goes against the global trend of decarbonization, but also takes away the homes and jobs of the local people for the construction, and causes pollution that would be unacceptable in Japan.

Bangladesh is one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change. Even though they emit very little carbon dioxide, the people of Bangladesh are losing their homes and jobs to the effects of climate change and are caught up in disasters. It is said that CO2 emissions must be halved by 2030 and reduced to zero by 2050 in order to limit the damage of climate change. In this situation, Japan, which emits the fifth-highest amount of CO2 in the world and is still building new coal-fired power plants, is under severe scrutiny from the rest of the world.

Climate Crisis and Bangladesh

For the people of Bangladesh, climate change is a matter of survival. The cyclone of May 2020 displaced more than 2.4 million people. In August of the same year, one-third of the country was inundated, affecting more than 5.5 million people and 1.05 million households. Flooding causes not only drowning but also infectious diseases. The salt damage caused by rising sea levels also affects drinking water and agriculture, one of the major industries. In Bangladesh, 1,000 to 2,000 people migrate to the capital city Dhaka every day, most of them ending up in peri-urban slums. Most of the migration is due to climate change.

Coal-Fired Power Plants Accelerating the Crisis

In the midst of the crisis, Japan is trying to build more coal-fired power plants in Bangladesh in the name of international cooperation. The Matabari Ultra-Supercritical Pressure Coal-Fired Power Plant Project is financed by the Japanese government and JICA as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and is being undertaken by Sumitomo Corporation and other companies that promote SDGs. This power plant will cause environmental pollution that would not be tolerated in Japan. It is expected to emit 21 times more sulfur dioxide and 10 times more lethal particles than the average new coal-fired power plant in Japan. The Phase 1 project alone is said to cause up to 14,000 premature deaths during its operation. The Phase 2 project is also planned, and JICA is making preparations for financing.

Japan's "International Contribution" Destroying Livelihoods and Taking Lives

The damage has already been done. In the process of obtaining land for the power plant, local people lost their homes and jobs and could not receive adequate compensation. More than 20,000 people who were involved in shrimp and salt farming lost their jobs.

Furthermore, fatal accidents have also occurred. Bangladesh is geographically prone to flooding, the effects of which have been exacerbated by climate change. However, the construction of the Matarbari project blocked the drainage system to deal with floods, causing extensive damage. 21 villages were flooded in 2018, and five children died. In addition, a boat on its way to school sank, seriously injuring seven children. This kind of project cannot be allowed to continue.

Stop the Matarbari Coal-fired Power Project!

If this project is allowed to continue, it will not only directly destroy the lives of the people and environment of Bangladesh, but will also accelerate climate change. The damage caused by the Matarbari coal-fired power project will not be limited to Bangladesh but will affect all people living on the earth. But the international movement to protest this project hasn’t reached the point to stop it——just yet. In Bangladesh, four people were shot dead by police during a protest against another coal-fired power plant in 2016. The climate justice movement around the world needs to stand in solidarity with the local Bangladeshi people who are fighting against the global problem of climate change despite the risk to their lives. 

The climate justice movement to overcome the unequal relationship between the Global North and the South starts here.

Let's use our power to force the cancellation of the Matabari Ultra Supercritical Pressure Coal-Fired Power Project!

See the list of the signatory groups/organizations here.