"There is no doubt that LNG development is affecting our livelihoods. LNG transport ships pass through and destroy our fishing gear, and there’s no compensation for that."
"We don’t need anymore LNG facilities in Southwest Louisiana. We are already overburdened, with pollution, with polluting industries. We can’t take it anymore. Our children are dying, our elders are dying. Japanese government, please listen to the people who live in these communities, and don’t invest in any more of these facilities."
"If I have a message to give to the people of Japan, and banks of Japan, we are in a crisis that we are all in. The truth is, we cannot afford to continue down to fossil fuels dependency."
In the United States, JBIC-financed LNG projects are causing a severe health crisis around project sites. Freeport LNG and Cameron LNG are both JBIC-financed projects that have devastated surrounding communities.
TOXIC POLLUTANTS
Since it began operations, Cameron LNG in Louisiana, with a JBIC loan of US$2.5 billion, has already had 67 leakage incidents as of January 2023, occurring twice a month on average. These incidents have led to the release of methane, volatile organic compounds, cancer-inducing benzene, and other harmful pollutants.
The LNG industry releases many harmful substances beyond methane, exposing residents to health risks: sulfur dioxide (which causes wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness), soot (causing asthma and heart attacks), and carbon monoxide (damaging organs and tissues). Benzene, also released from LNG facilities, damages nerve tissues and can cause cancer.
Long-term pollution at Freeport has also had devastating effects on local fisheries. Once a thriving shrimping town, Freeport is now foundering from the pollution from the plants.
VIOLATIONS
Worse, JBIC-financed LNG projects violate environmental laws with devastating consequences. Louisiana regulators have twice found Cameron LNG to be in violation of air pollution permits, and in 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notified the operators that they exceeded permissible levels of regulated and hazardous air pollutants in 2019. Additionally, underreporting of pollutant emissions is routine, with 44 of 67 incident reports lacking complete information, indicating that actual emissions were higher than reported.
Freeport LNG breached safety guidelines. On June 8, 2022, an explosion at the Freeport LNG terminal released about 3,400 cubic meters of methane, causing children and adult injuries with the blastwave and halting operations for eight months.
An investigation by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revealed that Freeport LNG was operating with 94 fewer staff than required at the time of the accident, with employees working 12-hour shifts leading to fatigue.
