BenarNews
More than 100 activists from 21 countries sent a letter to China’s government on Tuesday calling for it to end financing of a coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh, saying Beijing had notified Dhaka in February that it would no longer support highly polluting projects.
In 2016, Bangladesh approved the majority-Chinese funded Banshkhali S. Alam project, which has been controversial from the start, with allegations of undue force by police against protesters, and wage and labor issues.
“In February 2021, the Economic and Commercial Counselor of China in Bangladesh sent a letter to the Bangladesh Ministry of Finance stating that ‘the Chinese side shall no longer consider projects with high pollution and high energy consumption, such as coal mining and coal-fired power stations,’” the activists wrote in the letter signed by Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED).
Bangladesh has failed to achieve its target to raise the share of renewable energy to the total power generation to 10 per cent by 2020 amid constraints of resources, technologies and policies. Currently, 723.97 megawatts of power are generated from renewable sources, accounting for 3.25 per cent of the total electricity produced. The Renewable Energy Policy 2008 had set a
Oil Change International
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fossil Free ADB reaction to Asian Development Bank draft energy policy
The Asian Development Bank issued its draft energy policy on Friday following the conclusion of its 54th Annual Meeting and clarion calls from the United Nations to end financing for all fossil fuels including gas. This is the first time the policy has been updated since 2009 and the final version, to be approved by the board by October 2021, will guide the bank’s investment decisions until an interim review in 2025. This first draft has ruled out financing for coal but allows for continued gas finance which dominates the ADB’s fossil fuel lending.
Asian Development Bank to stop financing coal plants cgtn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cgtn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Daily Times
May 8, 2021
The Asian Development Bank will stop financing new coal power plants under a draft energy policy released Friday that was cautiously welcomed by environmental groups.
The ADB, which provides loans and grants for projects in the poorest countries in the Asia Pacific region, said its current policy was “no longer adequately aligned with the global consensus on climate change”.
“Coal and other fossil fuels have played a large part in ensuring access to energy for the region’s economic development, but they have not solved the energy access challenge, and their use harms the environment and accelerates climate change,” the Manila-based bank said in the document.