Open letter to Phillipe Brassac and Xavier Musca

Eighteen civil society organizations are calling on Crédit Agricole CIB to cease its role as a financial advisor for the Papua LNG project, led by TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Santos, and JX Nippon. The letter argues that the project, which includes 9 offshore wells and a 320km pipeline, would increase Papua New Guinea's energy and industry emissions by over 7% and generate 220 million tons of CO2 equivalent in scope 3 emissions. The authors highlight risks to frontline communities in Gulf Province, potential stranded assets due to a projected 72% decline in global gas demand by 2050, and a lack of guaranteed sales agreements. The organizations demand that Crédit Agricole withdraw from the project, end financial services for new gas fields and LNG terminals, and condition services to TotalEnergies on a commitment to stop new upstream and midstream oil and gas projects.

• The Papua LNG project, a US$10 billion venture led by TotalEnergies (37.55%), ExxonMobil (37.04%), Santos (22.83%), and JX Nippon (2.58%), is advised by Crédit Agricole CIB.
• Research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) indicates the project would raise Papua New Guinea's energy and industry emissions by more than 7%, with total scope 3 emissions estimated at 220 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e).
• The project poses significant financial risks, including the potential for stranded assets as global gas demand is projected to fall by 23% by 2030 and 72% by 2050 under the IEA's Net Zero roadmap; additionally, the project reportedly lacks long-term sales and purchase agreements (SPAs).
• The project is located in Gulf Province, where coastal areas are already impacted by climate change, and the authors cite irregularities in project preparation, including a lack of independent emissions information and the assignment of police to researchers.
• Papua New Guinea could potentially meet 78% of its on-grid energy needs through renewable energy by 2030 if appropriate financing is provided, meaning it does not require fossil gas for its own energy needs.

APA

Viel, H., Vollenweider, P., Johannisson, E., Frijns, J., Nouvian, C., Le Guenic, K., Bosip, P., Esin, I., Lekalakala, M., van Rooy, N., Wilting, J., Hawkes, S., van de Pol, W., Ioualalen, R., Breech, R., Pinson, L., & Ganswindt, K. (2023). Open letter to Phillipe Brassac and Xavier Musca. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/08/31/open-letter-to-phillipe-brassac-and-xavier-musca/

Chicago

Viel, Hugo, Pascal Vollenweider, Eigil Johannisson, Johan Frijns, Claire Nouvian, Klervi Le Guenic, Peter Bosip, et al. Open letter to Phillipe Brassac and Xavier Musca. Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/08/31/open-letter-to-phillipe-brassac-and-xavier-musca/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Viel |first1=Hugo |last2=Vollenweider |first2=Pascal |last3=Johannisson |first3=Eigil |last4=Frijns |first4=Johan |last5=Nouvian |first5=Claire |last6=Le Guenic |first6=Klervi |last7=Bosip |first7=Peter |last8=Esin |first8=Ildem |last9=Lekalakala |first9=Makoma |display-authors=etal |title=Open letter to Phillipe Brassac and Xavier Musca |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=31 August 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/08/31/open-letter-to-phillipe-brassac-and-xavier-musca/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{viel2023open, author = {Viel, Hugo and Vollenweider, Pascal and Johannisson, Eigil and Frijns, Johan and Nouvian, Claire and Le Guenic, Klervi and Bosip, Peter and Esin, Ildem and Lekalakala, Makoma and van Rooy, Neville and Wilting, Jeroen and Hawkes, Shona and van de Pol, Will and Ioualalen, Romain and Breech, Ruth and Pinson, Lucie and Ganswindt, Katrin}, title = {{Open letter to Phillipe Brassac and Xavier Musca}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2023/08/31/open-letter-to-phillipe-brassac-and-xavier-musca/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }