Japanese Funders: Climate Pledges and Coal Plants

japanese funders: For all the publicity garnered by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's Green New Deal and pledge last month of a 2050 net zero target, Korean engineering companies, too, are working with Japanese funders on Vietnam's Vung Ang 2 coal plant, according to The Japan Times. Chinese President Xi Jinping also garnered plenty of positive headlines last month for promising to bring the world's largest emitter to net zero status by 2060 but China still has 250 gigawatts of coal plants under development, more than the total existing fleets in India or the U.S. Doubts are warranted when so many nations are falling far short of their own climate pledges. So one reaction to a report that Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, will pledge next week to reduce the country's net carbon emissions to zero by 2050 might be Really ; After all, public and private Japanese banks are still funding new coal-fired power stations in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, exploiting a loophole in Tokyo's previous promise to reduce financing to such projects a fact that's causing some consternation among European investment funds. At the same time, it can be pushed too far. On the path to getting the binding and comprehensive emissions policies that the world needs, there will be plenty of partial, vague and unenforceable pledges. The promises of political leaders have real-world effects that we're already seeing. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.