Dear NRDC Activist,

Together, the three biggest commercial financiers of coal plant projects in the world have doled out over $39 billion in direct loans to coal plant developers since 2017.

That's right: Despite the increasing urgency to address the climate crisis, Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ, and SMBC — the three biggest banks in Japan — are still financing coal-fired power projects around the world. These same banks are also supporting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in the US.

We need as many people as possible — in the U.S. and around the world — to send the banks a message loud and clear: We will NOT allow them to mortgage the future viability of our planet for short-term profit.

Call on these banks to divest immediately from coal and to strengthen their climate commitments!

The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued the world a dire warning that climate catastrophe could come as soon as 2040 if we don't act now to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a massive, global scale. And last year, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on countries around the world to end coal plant construction by 2020.

Coal-fired power plants emit the highest levels of greenhouse gases of any power source. They're also the biggest industrial source of mercury pollution and emit countless other harmful chemicals that dirty our air and increase our risks of developing asthma, cancer, and other diseases.

Far less costly clean energy sources — like wind, solar, and battery storage — are now widely accessible and profitable: Over $2.6 trillion was invested in renewable energy in the last decade.

NRDC is doing everything in our power to hold these three banks accountable, just as we've done with countless corporations, financial institutions, and governments around the world. But we need your help.

All three banks have put in place coal lending restrictions thanks to activist pressure, but the policies contain loopholes allowing lending for several upcoming projects, such as the controversial Vung Ang 2 project in Vietnam. These banks just had their annual meetings and refused to end support for coal, despite pressure from their own shareholders.

Call on the CEOs of Japanese megabanks Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ, and SMBC to end ALL of their companies' coal projects, divest from coal entirely, and commit to prioritizing clean energy technologies — such as wind turbines and battery storage — to help fight climate change.

We must move away from dirty fossil fuels and transition to cleaner, smarter ways to power our future — and we can't do that without shutting down coal plants across the world and divesting from new coal projects.

By doubling down on antiquated, climate-busting technology, these megabanks are complicit in accelerating the climate crisis and condemning our children to a world of widening damage and growing peril.

Can I count on you to stand with me and NRDC and make your voice heard today?

Thanks for taking action.

Sincerely,

Han Chen
Manager for International Energy Policy, NRDC