The Japanese government’s financing of natural gas projects worldwide, via its international development lender, has resulted in environmental degradation and human rights violations, according to recent report. The report by the NGO Friends of the Earth (FoE) Japan notes that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has provided $18.6 billion for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production since 2016. “This amount is more than four times Japan’s $4.2 billion contribution to the Green Climate Fund,” Hiroki Osada, FoE Japan’s development finance and environment campaigner, said at a press briefing. Japan is the world’s largest buyer of LNG, but demand has fallen by 25% since 2014 and will fall by another 25% by 2030, Sam Reynolds, research lead with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said at the briefing. This is due to the country’s move toward nuclear and renewable energy, and a declining population, he added. Despite this, JBIC continues to finance LNG projects, which is causing widespread problems, according to the report that features case studies from nine affected countries. Osada said that while LNG is “praised for being clean, cheap and essential for development … this report shows the exact opposite.” In Bangladesh, energy produced from LNG costs 10 times more than electricity generated from domestic fuel, the report says. In at least four countries, JBIC-funded projects threaten marine biodiversity and the livelihood of fishers. “Fisherfolk and civil society have documented numerous violations … to the global biodiversity hotspot which is the Verde Island Passage [VIP],”…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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