Complicit in devastation

Local advocacy groups have tried to prick the consciences of giant international lenders that support local energy projects that use dirty fuel.

“You are complicit in the devastation of our people and the environment,” a Filipino bishop told the annual shareholders meeting of French bank Crédit Agricole.

Turning up the heat on local conglomerate San Miguel Corp, which is now the country’s biggest energy company, Bishop Gerry Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos admonished the bank for its continued support of fossil fuels expansion, which he said is contributing to the climate crisis and endangering Filipino communities.

“Today, I speak to you on behalf of my fellow Filipinos and our neighbors across Southeast Asia, and remind us of our shared responsibility to protect and care for our common home,” Alminaza said in his address to the bank’s officers and stockholders.

Alminaza is vice president of Caritas Philippines, a member organization of the Protect Verde Island Passage (Protect VIP) network, a coalition advocating for one of the world’s most biodiverse marine regions.

The group seeks to end financing for fossil fuel projects in the passage, which is part of the Coral Triangle that is recognized as the global center of marine shore fish biodiversity.

“Southeast Asia is home to the world’s richest center of marine biodiversity, including the Coral Triangle and our very own Verde Island Passage in the Philippines. Yet, this region faces a grave threat from fossil gas expansions fueled by companies such as one of your clients, San Miguel Corporation, in the Philippines,” Alminaza told the bankers.

“I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with communities fighting to protect my hometown from San Miguel’s destructive energy projects,” he said.

“Today, I raise my voice once again to express grave concern over your financial involvement with San Miguel, particularly regarding the development of its fossil gas power plant in the Verde Island Passage—our very own Amazon of the Oceans,” he said.

Crédit Agricole is the second-largest French financier of fossil gas in Southeast Asia and through its subsidiary, CA Indosuez Wealth Management, the bank holds bonds in San Miguel Global Power (SMGP), the leading energy company in the region.

“San Miguel’s fossil gas operations are devastating the lives and livelihoods of countless people who rely on the Verde Island Passage, especially our fisherfolk communities,” Alminaza said.

“By continuing to support these projects, Crédit Agricole, you are complicit in the devastation unfolding upon our people and the environment,” the prelate continued.

Crédit Agricole CEO Philippe Brassac denied direct involvement with San Miguel, saying, “We are not exposed to liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the Philippines, and we do not finance the LNG project of San Miguel Corporation that you mentioned.”

He, however, did not disclose the bond exposure of its unit.