When the Tokyo Games open on July 24, it will be the hottest Olympics in history.
The climate crisis is here and it’s being worsened by Japan’s continued support for fossil fuels and tropical deforestation. In fact, the country’s biggest investors in coal-fired power plants both in Japan and abroad are (also) major corporate sponsors of the Tokyo Games.
These sponsors are Mizuho, SMBC, and Tokio Marine. Mizuho is the biggest and SMBC the third biggest lender to coal power projects, and Tokio Marine provides the largest insurance service to power generation sector in Japan. While the Tokyo Games organisers are taking steps to ensure the health and safety of athletes and spectators, these measures won’t protect the public and the wider world from the extreme weather events associated with the climate emergency.
The heat is just going to get worse unless something is done to stop coal finance.
2020 is the year the Paris Agreement comes into effect – will the Tokyo Games be the moment when Japanese public and private financiers show their climate leadership by ending their coal investment?
The only way Japanese financial institutions can WIN GOLD in the global effort to tackle the climate crisis is by LOSING their involvement in coal finance and committing to deforestation-free renewables.
Japanese banks are already world leaders in funding renewable energy, so by using their money for good, they could help create a 100% renewable energy future.
Join the global campaign to stop Japan and the Tokyo Games corporate sponsors from funding more coal-fired power stations today.
