Friends of the Earth USA

11/14/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/14/2024 10:13

Advocacy Groups, Researchers and Businesses Call On Banks to Cut Ties With Formosa Plastics

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Advocacy Groups, Researchers and Businesses Call On Banks to Cut Ties With Formosa Plastics

November 14, 2024

WASHINGTON - Over 100 civil society organizations, research institutions and businesses sent an open letter to financial institutions that demands they end support for Formosa Plastics Group and its affiliates. The letter argues that continuing to fund plastics production is not only unethical, but financially irresponsible.

Formosa's practices have caused environmental and public health harm to communities around the world. In 2016, a steel company owned by Formosa Plastics was responsible for one of the most devastating environmental catastrophes in Vietnam's history, poisoning fishing grounds and damaging local livelihoods. In Texas, Formosa Plastics discharged massive amounts of plastic pollution in waterways, leading to a $50 million settlement in 2019. Since June 2021, the facility has been tested three times per week, with each test confirming ongoing violations. In St. James Parish, Louisiana, activists are fighting Formosa Plastics' proposed "Sunshine Project," a 2,400-acre petrochemical complex that would devastate an area already burdened by industrial pollution.

The letter also comes ahead of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty in Busan where environmental activists, in addition to calling for a plastics production phaseout and a just transition for affected communities, demand an end to corporate support for plastics across sectors. In October, environmental groups released a guide that demonstrates the financial risks that investing in plastics production poses and provides guidance on how financial institutions can exit the petrochemicals industry.

Paloma Henriques, Senior Petrochemical Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, released the following statement:

"Formosa Plastics has brought destruction and a lack of accountability at every turn, but financial institutions can break the cycle. It's no longer financially viable to fund the expansion of Big Plastic because it's not only unpopular, but would continue to devastate communities around the world. Formosa Plastics must not be allowed to continue to run over people and the planet in pursuit of profit, and the ones who fund them can see that they're stopped."

Sharon C. Lavigne, Founder & Executive Director of RISE St. James, released the following statement:

"Formosa Plastics has repeatedly disregarded the health, safety, and rights of communities across the globe. From the toxic pollution in Cancer Alley to industrial disasters in Vietnam and Taiwan, they leave devastation in their wake. As a grandmother, an advocate, and a frontline resident, I have witnessed firsthand the toll of these environmental crimes on our people and our land. We will no longer stand by as Formosa profits from our suffering. Financial institutions must reject any association with Formosa Plastics and its affiliates. This is not just about finance - it's about the fundamental rights of communities to live without fear of poison in our air, water, and soil."

Diane Wilson, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper and Goldman Environmental Prize Winner, released the following statement:

"I am a fourth generation fisherwoman on the Texas Gulf Coast, and for 36 years I have aligned with workers injured by Formosa Plastics' callous disregard for their safety and struggling Vietnamese and Hispanic fishermen whose livelihoods have been nearly extinguished by the company's thousands of illegal discharges into the water. What Formosa has done to the fishermen in Texas is what they have done to the fishermen in Vietnam and is a tragedy waiting to happen in St James Parish, Louisiana where Formosa wants to build a mammoth $12 Billion plastic plant. Formosa Plastics has to be stopped. Our lives and the very water beneath our boats depend upon it."

Nancy Bui, Founder and VP of External Affairs for the Justice for Formosa Victims Association, released the following statement:

"Investing clients' money in a company like Formosa Plastics, which has faced numerous environmental and human rights violations in South Texas, Louisiana, and Vietnam, raises concerns about these banks' commitment to ethics. They also pose the risk of significant financial loss, as evidenced by Formosa's stock price falling from $96 to $56 over the past year. If banks do not fund Formosa, we can change how they do business to protect people's health and the environment for our current and future generations."

Shih, Yue-Ying, Executive Director at the Changhua Environmental Protection Union (Taiwan), released the following statement:

"Formosa Plastics Group is an untrustworthy company and poses risks that financial institutions should avoid. The Formosa Plastics plant located in Yunlin County, Taiwan, has taken a large amount of water from our longest river and is causing significant impacts on agricultural and ecological water use, as well as increasing dust pollution. They continue to extract cheap river water but are unwilling to invest in desalinated seawater, and have left many other promises unfulfilled. They make promises in order to gain approval for development, only to later backtrack, delay, and fail to honor their commitments. Financial institutions should carefully assess the credibility risks associated with the Formosa Plastics Group and refrain from lending money to such an unreliable company."

Communications Contact: Erika Seiber, Friends of the Earth, [email protected]

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