Ex-Im Bank rejects funding for dirty coal project in Vietnam
Friends of the Earth: Obama administration keeps promise in climate action plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank voted to reject financing for the 1200-megawatt Thai Binh II coal plant in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam. Earlier this week, Friends of the Earth and other organizations wrote to President Obama asking that he intervene and assure that this project be rejected because funding the plant would be a clear violation of both the president’s climate action plan and the Ex-Im Bank’s own environmental policy.
Damon Moglen, senior strategic advisor at Friends of the Earth, had this reaction to the Bank’s decision:
“Friends of the Earth commends the Obama Administration for rejecting financing for this dirty power plant, and believe it bodes well for the implementation of the President’s ban on public financing for overseas coal deals. Going forward, we urge Ex-Im and other government agencies to ensure that the spirit and intent of this commitment is upheld, and not weakened by fine print and loopholes. With this momentum, the president should now encourage these institutions to support investment in renewable energy, efficiency technologies and energy storage so as to assure that we have a real, clean 21st century energy future.”
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Contact:
Damon Moglen, (202) 222-0708, [email protected]