Activists to protest Japanese financing of coal projects
Media Advisory for: November 13, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Energy activists will hold a demonstration outside of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to demand that Japan end public financing for coal projects. Japan is one of the biggest financiers of coal projects abroad. From 2007 to 2014, Japan provided more than $20 billion in coal financing for environmentally destructive projects all over the world.
Activists will bring attention to Japan’s continued coal financing and pressure Japan’s export credit agency to be a leader, not a laggard on environmentally responsible investing. This demonstration precedes a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Export Credit Group in Paris on November 17, 2015 where countries will negotiate restrictions on public financing for coal projects. Japan has pushed for less stringent limitations on coal financing and has sought to water down any agreement.
As part of the Stop Funding Fossil Fuels Global Days of Action, this picket will demonstrate the impact that this coal financing has had on local communities and call for Japan to end financing for these outdated and polluting projects.
What: Demonstration to demand that the Japanese government stop financing coal projects.
When:Friday, November 13, 2015 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT
Where: 1627 I St. NW (Japan Bank for International Cooperation’s Washington, D.C. office)
Who: Friends of the Earth, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and energy activists
Social media: Follow #StopFundingFossils
Visuals will include photos of the destructive impacts of the coal projects that Japan has financed.
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Expert contact: Kate DeAngelis, (202) 320-4742, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]