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ADB asked to stop funding dirty energy projects
Thai communities plan to attend Annual General Meeting in India next week
April 27, 2006
Civil society groups from Thailand today called on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to tackle the issue of stopping its funding for socially and environmentally harmful projects.
Enlarge ImageCivil society groups from Thailand today called
on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to tackle the issue of stopping its
funding for socially and environmentally harmful projects at its
upcoming Annual General Meeting of shareholders in Hyderabad, India
next week.
Mekong
Watch and People Against Coal, a national network of affected
communities, local activists, advocacy groups and environmental
organizations in Thailand which include Greenpeace and the Occupational
Patients Rights Network of Mae Moh, handed ADB representatives in
Bangkok photos of the Mae Moh coal plant in Lampang to remind them of
the bank’s dirty investments in Thailand. Many have died and suffered
from health problems from the pollution caused by Mae Moh coal plant;
in addition it contributes to climate change being the largest coal
power plant in Southeast Asia.
“The ADB mandate to reduce poverty sounds nice, but reality is much different. ADB-funded energy projects in Thailand, like Mae Moh coal plant, led to severe environmental impacts and made life more miserable for the poor. Despite strong evidence of negative impacts on people and the environment, the ADB continues to finance destructive large infrastructure projects such as the BLCP coal plant without any serious commitment towards developing appropriate alternatives. Renewable energy resources are abundant but the ADB has chosen to ignore it,” said Tara Buakamsri, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
ADB was established in 1966 with Thailand as one of its founding members. Cumulative ADB lending to Thailand as of December 2003 was US$5.39 billion, with 31% going to the energy sector many in dirty projects.
The largest coal plant in Southeast Asia, the infamous 2,625 MW coal-fired in Mae Moh was financed by the ADB. Mae Moh coal plant has killed scores of Thai villagers and displaced and maimed the health of tens of thousands in the province of Lampang. The coal plant also continues to inflict severe damage to area’s environment and economy.
In the province of Rayong, despite the outcry of host communities and amidst charges by the National Human Right Commission that the proponent subverted acceptable process designed to ensure genuine public consultation and full public disclosure, the ADB has initiated financing for the construction of a 1,434-MW coal plant in Map Ta Phut, an area which is already reeling from acute pollution.
“I want the ADB to stop building power plants like the Mae Moh coal plant in other parts of the world. We want do not other communities to endure the nightmare suffered by our community,” said Maliwan Nakwiroj, representative of People Against Coal and secretary of the Occupational Patients Rights Network of Mae Moh.
The ADB will hold its Annual General Meeting in Hyderabad, India on 3-6 May 2006. Community representatives from Thailand, whose livelihood has been eroded by ADB-funded projects, will attend the meeting to intensify their challenge for the institution to stop funding for energy projects that are detrimental to people and the environment.
“The ADB mandate to reduce poverty sounds nice, but reality is much different. ADB-funded energy projects in Thailand, like Mae Moh coal plant, led to severe environmental impacts and made life more miserable for the poor. Despite strong evidence of negative impacts on people and the environment, the ADB continues to finance destructive large infrastructure projects such as the BLCP coal plant without any serious commitment towards developing appropriate alternatives. Renewable energy resources are abundant but the ADB has chosen to ignore it,” said Tara Buakamsri, Climate and Energy Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
ADB was established in 1966 with Thailand as one of its founding members. Cumulative ADB lending to Thailand as of December 2003 was US$5.39 billion, with 31% going to the energy sector many in dirty projects.
The largest coal plant in Southeast Asia, the infamous 2,625 MW coal-fired in Mae Moh was financed by the ADB. Mae Moh coal plant has killed scores of Thai villagers and displaced and maimed the health of tens of thousands in the province of Lampang. The coal plant also continues to inflict severe damage to area’s environment and economy.
In the province of Rayong, despite the outcry of host communities and amidst charges by the National Human Right Commission that the proponent subverted acceptable process designed to ensure genuine public consultation and full public disclosure, the ADB has initiated financing for the construction of a 1,434-MW coal plant in Map Ta Phut, an area which is already reeling from acute pollution.
“I want the ADB to stop building power plants like the Mae Moh coal plant in other parts of the world. We want do not other communities to endure the nightmare suffered by our community,” said Maliwan Nakwiroj, representative of People Against Coal and secretary of the Occupational Patients Rights Network of Mae Moh.
The ADB will hold its Annual General Meeting in Hyderabad, India on 3-6 May 2006. Community representatives from Thailand, whose livelihood has been eroded by ADB-funded projects, will attend the meeting to intensify their challenge for the institution to stop funding for energy projects that are detrimental to people and the environment.
