AsiaElec :Japan ends coal financing, sticks to G7 agreements

Japan is ending its financing of coal power plants in Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The announcement by governments in Dhaka and Tokyo will initially affect the proposed Matarbari-2 coal power plant. Had it been financed to completion, Matarbari-2 would have had an output of 1.2 GW.

The move comes as part of Tokyo’s commitment to agreements with its G7 partners to help reduce its own carbon footprint, and stop funding coal projects.

Local media in Bangladesh quoted Power Minister Nasrul Hamid as saying the decision had been taken by Japan “to reduce its carbon footprint.”

As a silver-lining in the wake of the cancellation of financing, Hamid announced on social media that he had recently met with the vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Keiichiro Nakazawa, to discuss renewable energy collaboration.