Exactly two months ago an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Together, they not only resulted in a huge natural disaster, but also triggered an unprecedented man made tragedy. The Fukushima nuclear power plant is still out of control, threatening thousands of people’s health and livelihoods.
If making mistakes with nuclear energy is bad enough – not learning from those mistakes is indefensible. Help us encourage banks like BNP Paribas and HSBC to learn the lessons of Fukushima and invest in safe, sustainable energy by writing to the boards of these international banks and asking them to help us stop a very risky and unnecessary nuclear project in India.
The proposed plant in Jaitapur, India looks set to repeat the same careless and shortsighted mistakes that turned a catastrophic natural disaster in Japan into a Chernobyl-scale nuclear disaster for the entire planet.’
The Indian Environment Minister has admitted that the government’s current nuclear plans for a massive coastal nuclear power plant do not cover the possible event of a tsunami. What’s more, the proposed site is located in an area of high seismic activity and fragile local ecology. The stage seems set for yet another potentially disastrous nuclear catastrophe.
Such ill-conceived plans are very expensive, and require financial backing from major banks like BNP Paribas and HSBC. At a time when investment in clean, renewable energy is desperately needed to save our planet, these banks choose to maintain the destructive status-quo by continuing to invest heavily in nuclear power.
But, you can encourage them to change. Against the backdrop of a two-month old Fukushima disaster, May 11 also marks the Annual General Meeting of BNP Paribas and HSBC’s Strategy Day. Ensure the boards of these banks receive plenty of warning about nuclear funding on this day by putting your concerns in writing.
Send a message to HSBC and BNP Paribas to rule out investment in the Jaitapur nuclear power project.
