Ten Reasons Why Sumitomo’s Matarbari Coal Plant is a Terrible Idea

Mighty Earth argues that the Matarbari coal plant project in Bangladesh is a 'disaster' characterized by cost overruns, high pollution levels, and human rights concerns. The document highlights that solar energy is a cheaper and cleaner alternative and asserts that the project violates Japan's own climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and its Fifth Strategic Energy Plan.

• The Matarbari coal project is financially mismanaged, having been "30% over budget and at least a year behind schedule" before the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of electricity from Matarbari Units 1 & 2 is reported at "$135/MWh", which is significantly higher than the estimated "$91/MWh (USD)" for solar PV in Bangladesh.
• The project utilizes technology that is significantly more polluting than what is permitted in Japan, with emissions of SO2 up to "21 times" and deadly particles "10 times" the amount of an average new coal plant in Japan. This pollution is expected to put nearby communities "significantly over WHO health guidelines for concentrations of air pollution."
• The development of the coal plants has negatively impacted local residents and the environment, including the forced land acquisition of "5,000 acres" affecting an estimated "90,000 people" who relied on salt cultivation and shrimp farming. Additionally, pollution threatens the "long-term viability of Cox’s Bazar as a tourist destination".
• The project contradicts Japan's international and domestic climate policies, including the "Paris Agreement" and the "Fifth Strategic Energy Plan (2018)", the latter of which states new coal should only be considered for countries with "no choice but to select coal as a key source of energy".

APA

Jones, S. (2020). Ten Reasons Why Sumitomo’s Matarbari Coal Plant is a Terrible Idea. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/ten-reasons-why-sumitomos-matarbari-coal-plant-is-a-terrible-idea/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Ten Reasons Why Sumitomo’s Matarbari Coal Plant is a Terrible Idea. Mighty Earth, 2020. https://mightyearth.org/article/ten-reasons-why-sumitomos-matarbari-coal-plant-is-a-terrible-idea/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Ten Reasons Why Sumitomo’s Matarbari Coal Plant is a Terrible Idea |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=15 June 2020 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/ten-reasons-why-sumitomos-matarbari-coal-plant-is-a-terrible-idea/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2020ten, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Ten Reasons Why Sumitomo’s Matarbari Coal Plant is a Terrible Idea}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/ten-reasons-why-sumitomos-matarbari-coal-plant-is-a-terrible-idea/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }