{"id":612298,"date":"2026-09-02T13:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/612298\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:48:09","slug":"barclays-faces-complaint-over-backing-for-power-plant-near-worlds-largest-mangrove-forest-global-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/612298\/","title":{"rendered":"Barclays faces complaint over backing for power plant near world\u2019s largest mangrove forest | Global development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the Sundarbans, the world\u2019s largest mangrove forest and home to millions of people in Bangladesh<\/a> and India.<\/p>\n

Three complainants from the region have submitted a case to the UK government\u2019s Office for Responsible Business Conduct, alleging that the British bank breached international guidelines by underwriting companies involved in the emission-heavy Maitree super thermal power project, also known as the Rampal power plant.<\/p>\n

The coal-fired power station is situated near the Sundarbans, a Unesco world heritage site<\/a> made up of more than 100 tiny islands across a river delta that supports hundreds of plant and animal species<\/a>, including the Bengal tiger.<\/p>\n

Sharif Jamil<\/a>, an environmental campaigner based in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, who is one of the complainants, said heavy-metal pollution from the plant and the industrial development surrounding it was entering the Sundarbans through its interconnected rivers and canals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rampal power plant is right on the bank of the Pasur River, which is the lifeline of the Sundarbans,\u201d he said. \u201cThe health of the forest is in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last November, a study found elevated levels of mercury and arsenic<\/a> in water samples taken from the Sundarbans, with the highest concentrations recorded in the Pasur River.<\/p>\n

Researchers identified industrial discharge and port-related activities among the sources of heavy-metal contamination and said the Rampal power station posed \u201ca significant environmental threat due to emissions from coal combustion and increased navigation traffic\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Sundarbans, the world\u2019s largest mangrove forest and one of the last habitats of Bengal tigers, supports the livelihoods of millions of people. Photograph: Bengal Picture Library\/Alamy<\/p>\n

Millions of people live in the Sundarbans, and many depend on the river<\/a> and forests for food and other resources.<\/p>\n

The claimants allege that Barclays<\/a> failed to conduct sufficient due diligence on the environmental and human rights risks before providing financial services to organisations connected to the project.<\/p>\n

Barclays underwrote debt of India\u2019s state-owned NTPC Ltd (formerly the National Thermal Power Corporation), one of the joint-venture partners behind the plant, according to King\u2019s Legal Clinic, which is assisting the complainants. It also says Barclays underwrote bond issues for the Export-Import Bank of India<\/a> between 2016 and 2019, which provided a loan for the Rampal project.<\/p>\n

The complainants argue that emissions from the plant will contribute to global heating, rising sea levels and extreme weather in a region already highly vulnerable to the climate crisis. Mangroves act as a natural barrier against cyclones and other extreme weather.<\/p>\n

The power station faced sustained opposition during its planning and construction, including concerns raised by Unesco<\/a> in a report in 2016, which concluded that \u201cair and water pollution have a high likelihood to irreversibly damage the \u2026 World Heritage property\u201d. Some financial institutions, including banks in France, refused to support the project<\/a> because of its potential environmental and social effects, the complaint says.<\/p>\n

Jamil said Barclays\u2019 international standing obliged it to consider the consequences of financing. \u201cThe greater your reputation, the greater your responsibility to behave responsibly towards the planet and its people,\u201d he said. \u201cBarclays is a reputed global organisation, and that is why it also has a responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther banks and financial institutions were divesting from, or declining to finance, this project,\u201d he added. \u201cBarclays and other financial organisations should change their policies and examine how their operations can protect the planet from climate catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamil also called on banks to direct more funding towards renewable energy rather than imported fossil fuels. \u201cBangladesh has sunlight throughout the year,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy should we expand fossil fuels when there is enormous potential to produce electricity from renewable energy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The other complainants include Animesh Mandal, a farmer and politician, and the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum, a trade union representing fish workers in West Bengal.<\/p>\n

They are being assisted by students and lawyers at King\u2019s Human Rights and Environment Clinic, part of King\u2019s College London\u2019s law school.<\/p>\n

Sue Willman, a solicitor at the clinic, said: \u201cRural communities in the Sundarbans are on the frontline of the climate and nature crisis. We hope to persuade banks and financial institutions to think again before financing oil and coal developments that are contributing to that crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Office for Responsible Business Conduct, part of the Department for Business and Trade, will assess whether to consider the complaint.<\/p>\n

Barclays Bank and BIFPCL (Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Ltd), the holding company for the Maitree super thermal power project, declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-612298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}