(Added request for comment to paragraph 4) by Lewis Jackson
The world’s major lenders should refuse to finance a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea to help combat global warming, civil society groups said on Wednesday, as some owners appeal to banks in anticipation of a final green light next year.
The Papua LNG project is incompatible with keeping global warming below 1.5°C due to emissions produced when the gas is burned by customers, according to an open letter from a coalition of 50 environmental advocacy groups. environment and social justice.
The letter was sent to dozens of major banks and public lenders in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia that financed a previous LNG project in the country or TotalEnergies TTEF.PA projects in the Asia-Pacific region since 2018.
The joint venture partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 5.4 million tonne-per-year Papua LNG project is the second major gas project in the poor Pacific country and is a joint venture between TotalEnergies, Exxon Mobil XOM.N , Santos STO.AX and state-owned Kumul Petroleum.
Even as activists warn against banks in France, the United States and Australia, their respective governments are wooing Papua New Guinea with economic and defense deals designed to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Kumul Petroleum revealed on Monday that it was in advanced talks with three Chinese banks named in the letter to help finance its share in time for the project’s final investment decision in 2024.
Kumul chief executive Wapu Sonk told Reuters that Chinese banks were more willing to finance hydrocarbon projects.
French company TotalEnergies is also seeking financing for the project advised by Crédit Agricole CAGR.PA, according to the letter. Crédit Agricole did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.
The project is supported by the Papua New Guinea government, which received a quarter of tax revenue from mining and oil royalties in 2022.
Prime Minister James Marape said on Monday that nations with the largest carbon footprints and affluent lifestyles must take the lead in reducing emissions.
Total says the Papua LNG project will launch with a carbon capture and storage system that will bury around 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.