CARITAS Philippines and other advocacy groups have voiced strong opposition to Japanese megabanks’ Asia-wide fossil fuel expansion projects, calling them the “villains of the climate crisis.”
“The actions against Japanese companies are intended to coincide with their annual meetings,” lawyer and climate activist Aaron Pedrosa told SunStar Philippines, following their protest action in Makati’s business district on Tuesday, June 24, 2025
At least 150 protesters from the Asian Energy Network (AEN), from the Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Sanlakas, and other environmental groups joined the rally, in time with this year’s meetings of Japan’s largest megabanks Mizuho, SMBC, MUFG, and energy giant JERA.
They criticized Japan’s “aggressive push for coal and gas projects” in Asia.
Jing Rey Henderson, head of the national Ecology Program for Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), called out Japanese megabanks for financing gas expansion.
She cited the February 2023 oil spill from a Japanese-owned ship, MT Princess Empress, which was carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel that reached the Philippines’ Verde Island Passage, known as the “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity” on the planet.
“There are oil spills that haven’t been cleaned up yet, and there are still leaks. What’s alarming is that 10 million fishers are affected, within the Verde Island Passage and surrounding islands,” Henderson told Catholic news site UCA News on June 25.
“So when we look at the scale of the epicenter’s reach, the threat is not just limited to that area but also affects surrounding regions. When these huge oil tankers pass through, they release dirty oil into the sea, and it’s the fishers who suffer,” Henderson added, when asked why they are concerned about Japanese fossil fuels and how they impact Filipinos directly or indirectly.
Henderson also said the Catholic Church has committed to divestment by the end of 2025, while putting pressure on Japanese and domestic banks “to reduce or remove investments in fossil gas.”
“We know that in the Philippines, our energy mix is composed of more than 60 percent coal, fossil gas, fossil fuels, and liquefied natural gas. This brings us to the issue of why electricity is expensive and unreliable in the country, because coal is costly,” Henderson said.
“Even though the country mines coal locally, it is among the lowest-grade in the world, with little commercial value. So, when we import coal, it becomes more expensive, and as a result, electricity becomes costly,” she added.
To show their commitment to anti-fossil initiatives, Henderson said over P167 million has been divested by dioceses from corporations known to finance fossil fuel and mining projects.
“The Church has also strengthened its stance by refusing to accept donations from unethical sources through a non-acceptance policy,” Henderson said.
‘Strong message to corporations’
Pedrosa maintained that Caritas Philippines’ action “is consistent with the Church’s mission of stewardship as pronounced by Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.”
“This is leadership by example; one that we hope will be emulated by businesses in the country, a nation where more than a majority professes Christianity. At the same time, divestment sends a strong message to corporations that they can no longer do business in the old way, where profits are privatized and social costs are socialized,” Pedrosa said.
The Sanlakas leader warned that “if corporations continue investing in fossil fuels, they will be bleeding themselves dry as more and more opt to divest in unsustainable ventures.”
Meanwhile, Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said they continue to confront Japan’s megabanks and fossil fuel giants like JERA, which, according to her, “continue to fund dirty energy projects across the region.”
“Every coal unit, every new gas pipeline and import terminal that Japan helps fund pushes our region further away from climate safety and deeper into environmental collapse. These investments are not solutions—they are accelerants of climate breakdown and severely threaten our ability to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” Nacpil said in a statement on June 24.
Citing the Banking on Climate Chaos 2024 report, Nacpil said Japanese banks are among the world’s biggest fossil fuel financiers.
“Mizuho ranked No. 2 globally for total fossil fuel financing ($37 billion in 2023) and for funding companies engaged in fossil fuel expansion, committing $18.8 billion. MUFG wasn’t far behind at No. 3, lending $15.4 billion for fossil fuel expansion,” she said. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)