- In a communiqué, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has conveyed their decision suspend funding the Lamu coal project in Kenya and the Sengwa coal project in Zimbabwe.
- ICBC is one of the leading Chinese banks with a global portfolio including fossil fuel extraction.
In a communiqué, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has conveyed their decision to not to fund the Lamu coal project in Kenya and the Sengwa coal project in Zimbabwe. ICBC is one of the leading Chinese banks with a global portfolio including fossil fuel extraction.
There has been a major outcry about Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)’s engagement in funding coal projects. The Bank has been continuing talks about the Go Clean ICBC coalition to chart a clear road map for ICBC to stop funding coal.
This trend has been already been set by the Philippines-based multilateral bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) – one of the region’s biggest energy financiers when it announced in May 2021, a new draft energy policy, cutting down all financing of fossil fuels.
In Zimbabwe, Green Governance Zimbabwe Trust, a public interest organisation has been lobbying for the inclusion and participation of communities in natural resource governance. It has also urged the government to seek alternatives to coal.
Similarly, Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) also had urged the government to move in line with the international trends of shifting from coal financing to allocating more financial resources towards funding investments in renewable energy. In a report ‘Coal Investments in Zimbabwe: A misplaced priority’ CNRG pointed out that decisions to finance coal investments are not only undemocratic and unilateral but also reduces the country’s commitment to international conventions towards reducing carbon emissions. The author of the report Obrien Nhachi remarked that Zimbabwe’s addiction to coal is harmful to the citizens and goes against Zimbabwe’s own policy and strategies.
