|
KYOTO,
Japan—Greenpeace
expressed shock at the statement delivered by the Asian
Development Bank’s (ADB) board chairman, Japan’s Finance
Minister Koji Omi, on the penultimate day of the Bank’s
40th Annual Meeting in Kyoto. After acknowledging the
vital role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in
reducing Asia’s carbon dioxide emissions, Minister Omi
proposed that nuclear power could be “a key solution for
the climate change problem” and praised initiatives that
work against the Kyoto Protocol, rather than ensure
steps toward meaningful emission cuts for the Kyoto
Protocol’s continuation after 2012.
“Japan’s
ADB Board Chair has dishonored Kyoto by failing to rally
behind its continuation. The minister has also confused
his role as Chairman of the ADB Board by pushing nuclear
energy onto the ADB’s agenda. This is a disgrace,”
Greenpeace
Japan
executive director, Jun Hoshikawa said in a statement.
“Kyoto
is a source of great global pride. Instead of
undercutting the climate accord, Japan should redouble
its efforts to meet its Kyoto target, rather than
support expensive and dangerous technologies such as
nuclear. As the head of a development institution, Japan
should make sure that the ADB is able to help developing
countries decarbonize their economies,” Hoshikawa
continued.
Greenpeace arrived in
Kyoto with very specific demands for the ADB to phase out support
for coal, to scale up the US$1 billion annual Clean
Energy Initiative and to ensure that the funding
facility is coal-free.
Greenpeace welcomed announcements related to the ADB’s
clean energy and environment package. The group voiced
its dismay, however, over the ADB’s refusal to abandon
coal.
“Supporting renewable energies without phasing out coal
is only half of the solution to climate change. But the
climate cannot be half-saved. We believe that a coal
project in
Vietnam
which the ADB is currently considering to finance will
be a test case that will demonstrate how serious the ADB
is,” said Athena Ballesteros, Greenpeace International
Asia regional climate campaigner.
The only
solution to climate change is to channel investments
towards renewable energy and energy efficiency. These
solutions are ripe for investment and the industry is
ready.
“The
renewable energy industry has matured and is fully
geared up to meet the challenges of the electricity
sector,” said Tulsi Tanti, CEO of Suzlon, Asia’s largest
wind energy company.
Greenpeace’s global energy blueprint, ‘Energy
Revolution’ 2 demonstrates that it is possible to ensure
economic development and meet the demand of scientists
to cut global carbon emissions in half by 2050.
“The
clean energy package and funding commitments unveiled at
this meeting are clear steps forward. Continued support
for coal and tolerance for nuclear, however, has taken
the ADB five steps backward. The only pathway to Asia’s
sustainable future is signposted ‘renewable energy and
energy efficiency’ and we call on the ADB to lead Asia
down that path,” Ballesteros said. |
