Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist is publicly supporting young student climate protesters in Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam to speak up against the Vung Ang 2 coal-fired power plant project in Vietnam. The students are opposing the power plant saying that the addition of a coal plant that emits greenhouse gases will have catastrophic consequences for future generations. The Vietnamese government has according to project leader Mitsubishi Corp. strongly requested the construction of the plant to combat daily power shortages in Hanoi and a coal-fired plant would cost less to build than a nuclear or liquified natural gas facility.
In a newly tweeted video released by the Japanese arm of the Fridays for Future climate strike movement she founded, the activist announced her full support to the No Coal for Our Future campaign that aims to stop funding’s to the coal-fired plant. Greta Thunberg also told the student protesters that they are all so brave and to please keep it and don’t give up.
Last month a group of nine students, university students, and an entrepreneur, led by Keio University student Momoko Nojo in Japan, sent an open letter with a deadline respond time to companies backing the project. The letter asked project leader and project participants if they intend to cancel the plans after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called for a net-zero society by 2050. The letter also questioned how the Vung Ang 2 project is consistent with the Paris Agreement and the goal to limit global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Project leader Mitsubishi Corp. responded that it will pursue low carbon through ammonia-mixed combustion and not engage in any future coal-fired power plants. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) noted that the project has been endorsed by Japanese and Vietnamese leaders and contributes to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals by reducing areas with no electric.
Source: NIKKEI ASIA
