April 15 2020, Tokyo, Japan – Greenpeace Japan reacts to Mizuho Financial Group’s revised sustainability policy (link), published today.
The revised policy includes a decision to stop financing new coal-fired power projects. However, exceptions may be considered in order to ensure stable energy supply, and projects to which Mizuho has previously committed to are excluded from the policy. The policy also sets a target to reduce the outstanding coal energy project finance of about 300 billion yen by 50% by 2030 and to zero by 2050.
In response to the new policy, Hanna Hakko, Greenpeace Japan’s Senior Energy Campaigner said:
“We are pleased to see Mizuho catching up with its peers by starting to ban new financing for coal power projects. However, this should be understood as only the first step. If Mizuho is serious about contributing to decarbonisation, it needs to address all of its lending and investments which support the fossil fuel industry.”
“Mizuho’s new policy does not set limitations on financing of corporations involved in the coal industry. Given that Mizuho is one of the world’s biggest lenders to corporations involved in coal and wider fossil fuel business, this is a significant weakness.” [1]
By ending coal project finance, Mizuho is only addressing one part of its fossil fuel finance portfolio. Greenpeace Japan is urging Mizuho and the other Japanese megabanks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, to follow the example of banks that have decided to gradually stop financing utilities that rely on coal energy. Japanese megabanks need to immediately stop all funding for the fossil fuel industry and require all utility clients to provide strategies that demonstrate their plans to decarbonise their business. [2]
[1] December 2019: Japan’s banks and investors top global coal financier list at COP25
https://350.org/press-release/japans-banks-and-investors-top-global-coa-financier-list-at-cop25/
March 2020: Banking on Climate Change https://www.ran.org/bankingonclimatechange2020/
[2] Banking sector commitments on reducing coal financinghttps://www.banktrack.org/campaign/bank_moves_out_of_coal
Photos of Greenpeace actions related to Mizuho:
January 2020: Greenpeace Switzerland’s activity at Davos World Economic Forum: https://media.greenpeace.org/collection/27MZIFJ8B4IU4
May 2018: Greenpeace Japan’s activity at Mizuho headquarters, Tokyo: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Bi0CNAV0TLFgQbAVYXwXBh6E0NFALaHp?usp=sharing
Greenpeace Japan reports related to Mizuho:
August 2019: A Deadly Double Standard: How Japan’s financing of highly polluting overseas coal plants endangers public health: https://www.greenpeace.org/japan/nature/story/2019/08/20/9918/
December 2018: Uncertain and Harmful:Japanese coal investment in Indonesia: https://www.greenpeace.org/japan/sustainable/press-release/2018/12/06/6042/