Japanese-financed coal power plants in developing Asian countries are emitting up to 40 times more pollution than plants built in Japan, a study by Greenpeace has found. It has been suggested that this could cause more than 400,000 people to die prematurely in countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, that are already suffering from bad air quality. The report, A Deadly Double Standard, says the coal plants emit up to 13 times more nitrogen oxide, 33 times more sulphur dioxide (SO2), and 40 times more dust than those built in Japan. Japan’s public finance agencies put US$16.7 billion into coal projects in countries with low emissions standards since 2013, whilst additional financing was provided by Japan’s three largest private banks: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Greenpeace has called on the Japanese Government to immediately stop the agencies from investing in overseas coal power plants for which emission limits do not meet the standards applied in Japan.

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