A coalition of 174 civil society organisations, networks, and activists has written to the World Bank’s board of directors, urging them to reject funding for four waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration projects proposed by Abellon Clean Energy Limited (ACEL) in Rajkot, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Jamnagar in Gujarat.
The letter, written by the Centre for Financial Accountability, International Accountability Project, National Hawkers Federation, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)-Asia Pacific, and Break Free From Plastics and endorsed by 174 civil society organisations, regional and global networks and activists, underlines that the projects would burn over 3,750 tons of garbage daily and generate CO2 equivalent to the emissions from about 18,75,000 cars.
The harmful impacts of WTE incinerators have been documented in the subproject in Jamnagar where the incinerator has been operational since November 2021, the collective mentions. Further, the letter underlines that ever since the operation of the plant, the local residents have faced issues of noise pollution, air pollution, deposition of effluent smog on their residences, water pollution and severe health impacts.
“Due to the violations seen in Jamnagar, civil society organisations and activists in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Rajkot are worried about the environmental and health impacts on communities staying in the vicinity of the proposed WTE incinerators, if these are constructed. The incinerator in Ahmedabad which has only been partially built is being constructed in Gyaspur village, on the outskirts of the city, where there is already another incinerator by Jindal Power operating nearby and there are many other polluting industries. Due to the pollution generated by the existing incinerators and other industries, communities residing here have already been suffering from severe health impacts with many reported cases of cancer. Construction of another WTE incinerator in such an area will bear cumulative health and environmental impacts,” the collective letter says.
The coalition argues that the projects’ environmental and social impact assessments are flawed and violate both the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and Indian environmental laws. Despite being considered a “red category” project in India for its massive environmental and social risks, this project has been given a lower risk rating of “Category B” by the IFC, as per the collective.
“The diluted and flawed environment and social impact assessment by IFC for these toxic WTE incinerators that contribute to excessive pollution and are linked to fossil fuels indicates that IFC has not been compliant to its safeguards and also to the Paris Agreement,” says Vaishnavi Varadarajan from the International Accountability Project, in a press statement released by the coalition.
They also point out that the projects threaten the livelihoods of waste workers and are a “false solution” to the climate crisis, producing excessive pollution and undermining sustainable waste management practices.
“WTE incinerators are poised to become the most carbon-intensive power source once coal is phased out. Burning a tonne of plastic waste alone results in the release of around 1.43 tonnes of CO2. It destroys recycling, reuse, and refill options and disincentives reduction of producing new materials so less will have to be managed as wastes,” says Miriam Mayang Azurin, asia pacific deputy director at GAIA, in the press statement.
The World Bank’s funding of these projects would be contradictory to its commitment to environmental protection and community well-being, the coalition says. They have urged the World Bank to prioritise sustainable energy solutions and reject the funding for ACEL’s waste-to-energy initiatives.
“We therefore strongly urge you as directors of the World Bank to consider the scientific and public evidence presented above, to respect human rights, and to be true to the Bank’s commitment to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement goals, by not only voting against the loan to Abellon Clean Energy Limited, but to halt all finance to waste-to-energy incinerator projects,” the collective writes.
Collective letter is written by:
Endorsed by:
- Samast Machimar Samaj, Gujarat, India
- Vadodaraa Jan Samiti, Gujarat, India
- Peoples Union of Civil Liberties-PUCL, Gujarat
- Maldhari Vikas Sanghatan, Gujarat, India
- SEVA, Gujarat, India
- Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat, India
- Rahethan Adhikar Manch – Gujarat-Ahmedabad, India
- KKPKP, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- SWaCH Cooperative, Maharashtra, India
- Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society, Maharashtra, India
- Bargi Bandh Visthapit Evam Parbhavit Sangh, Madhya Pradesh, India 12. Poovalugin Nanbargal, Tamil Nadu, India
- Plachimada Solidarity Organisation, Trivandrum, India
- Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim, India
- Affected Citizens of Teesta, Sikkim, India
- Zero Waste Himalaya, India
- Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Odisha, India
- Information Resource Centre For Urban Deprived Communities, Tamil Nadu, India 19. Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation
- Delhi Forum, India
- National Alliance for People’s Movements, India
- MAUSAM- Movement for Advancing Understanding of Sustainability And Mutuality, India
- SANDRP, India
- Toxics Watch, India
- Focus on the Global South, India
- Waste to Biogas to Energy Startup Innovation Network, India
- Eco Circular India Foundation, India
- Sambhaavnaa Institute
- Youth for Climate, India
- Mines,minerals and People, India
- Nadi Ghati Morcha, India
- All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh, India
- Joint Action for Water, India
- Waste Warriors, India
- Warrior Moms, India
- We the Change Trust, India
- Warrior Moms, India
- Indigenous Perspectives, India
- Ajeevika Bureau, India
- Samata, India
- South Asian Solidarity Collective, India
- Friends of the Earth, India
- Centre For Labour Research and Action, India
- National Land Coalition – International Land Coalition 45. Indian Social Action Forum
- Green Army International, India
- Anhad, India
- Stree Mukti Sanghatan, India
- Coastal Women’s Movement, India
- International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, India
- MCC, India
- Grambangla Unnayan Committee, Bangladesh
- Participatory Research & Action Network – PRAAN, Bangladesh 54. Alternative Law Collective, Pakistan
- Lahore Conservation Society, Pakistan
- Pak Trading, Pakistan
- Pakistan Fisherfolk Form, Pakistan
- EcoCare Consultancy Services (ECCS) Private Limited 59. Clean Up Nepal, Nepal
- Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF360), Nepal 61. Samyukta Safai Jagaran, Nepal
- Community Empowement and Social Justice, Nepal
- Indigenous Women’s Legal Awareness Group, Nepal
- Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation, Nepal 65. Centre for Environment Justice, Pakistan
- Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Sri Lanka 67. FIAN Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka Nature Group – SLNG, Sri Lanka
- National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Sri Lanka
- Thant, Myanmar
- Alyansa Tigil Mina, Philippines
- EcoWaste Coalition, Philippines
- War on Waste Negros Oriental, Philippines
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), Malaysia
- Consumers’ Association of Penang, Malaysia
- Trend Asia, Indonesia
- Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia
- The Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI), Indonesia 79. TKPT,Indonesia
- Bai Waste Platform, Indonesia
- Ecoton, Indonesia
- Brantas River Waterkeeper, Indonesia
- NOWASTE SURABAYA, Indonesia
- Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat (IMA), Indonesia
- KSPPM, Indonesia
- AMAN Maluku, Indonesia
- Yayasan Srikandi Lestari, Indonesia
- SERUNI, Indonesia
- Pacific Environment Vietnam, Vietnam
- SCODE, Vietnam
- Equitable Cambodia, Cambodia
- Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia
- Terra Pheonix, Singapore
- Greeners Action, Hong Kong
- Blue Dailan, China
- Korea Zero Waste Movement Network, Korea
- Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Uzbekistan
- ACARO, Uzbekistan
- PA “Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan “, Kyrgystan
- FORUM- Asia, Asia (Regional)
- NGO Forum on ADB, Asia (Regional)
- Reality of Aid-Asia Pacific, Asia (Regional)
- Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, Asia (Regional) 104. 350 Asia, Asia (Regional)
- Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders, Asia (Regional) 106. Sankalp Gramotthan Bahuddeshiya Sanstha, Asia (Regional)
- Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE), Armenia 108. Friends of the Earth Spain, Spain
- Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, United Kingdom 110. Polish Zero Waste Association, Poland
- The Bretton Woods Project, United Kingdom (Global)
- Recourse, Netherlands (Global)
- Urgewald, Germany (Global)
- Environment and Language Education Trust, South Africa
- Mapela Executive Committee, South Africa
- JUHUDI Community Support Center, Kenya
- Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
- Endorois Welfare Council (EWC), Kenya
- Green Advocates International (Liberia)
- Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Liberia
- Center for Environment/Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Les Amis de la Terre-Togo, Togo
- Care For Environment, Cameroon, Africa
- Host Communities Network of Nigeria ( HoCoN), Nigeria
- Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation, Uganda
- National Association of professional Environmentalists(NAPE), Uganda 127. Zimbabwe People’s Land Rights Movement, Zimbabwe
- Dibeen For Environmental development, Jordan
- Consejo Indígena Maya Ch’orti de Olopa Chiquimula, Guatemala 130. ANAFAE, Honduras
- AMFER, El Salvador
- CAMBIUM, Colombia
- Otros Mundos Chapas/Amigos de la Tierra México, Mexico
- Center for International Environmental Law, United States (Global)
- Trash Hero World, Global
- Saahas, India
- Chennai Climate Action Group(CCAG), India 138. Vinod Sonera, India
- Ramachandra Rao, India
- Namuna Amjad, India
- Priya Jain, India
- Rosamma Thomas, India
- Priyanka Raj, India
- Avinash Kumar India
- Ayesha Khan, India
- Swati Desai, India
- Rohini Malur, India
- Ramnarayan, India
- Bhavna Sharma, India
- Ambily Adithyan, India
- K Saravanan, India
- Selvakumar, India
- Dhilipan K, India
- Ashok, Tamil Nadu, India
- Jamunarai, India
- Salma Sumi, India
- Kobad Ghandy, India
- Renuka Kad, India
- John, India
- Hirak Bandyopadhyay, India
- Nikhilkumar Panchal, India
- Prashanth, India
- Dr. Sultan Mahmood, Pakistan
- David Jens Thomas Pedersen, Canada 165. Jenny
- Sundarrajan
- Prabhakaran Veeraarasu 168. SARAVANAN T M 169. Anu
- Yukendran
- Kamaraj
- Bharat
- Balaji S
- SABARESAN
- Salma Sumi, India
- Kobad Ghandy, India
- Renuka Kad, India
- John, India
- Hirak Bandyopadhyay, India
- Nikhilkumar Panchal, India
- Prashanth, India
- Dr. Sultan Mahmood, Pakistan
- David Jens Thomas Pedersen, Canada
- Jenny
- Sundarrajan
- Prabhakaran Veeraarasu
- SARAVANAN T M
- Anu
- Yukendran
- Kamaraj
- Bharat
- Balaji S
- SABARESAN
This article was originally published in The Wire and can be read here.
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