Behind the scenes with activists at COP27, with FFF’s Kentaro Yamamoto

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) on climate change ended on November 20 with a historic decision to establish a loss and damage fund. But, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, more needs to be done to slash emissions now; “The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition.” Trying to help make that leap happen is Fridays For Future Japan.

Seven FFF Japan members attended COP27. Kentaro Yamamoto was one of them. He leads a project for climate justice for minorities. The project aims to call out large polluters, such as global enterprises and affluent people, together with the Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA) of climate change. Last month, I spoke with Yamamoto online about various topics, including FFF Japan’s actions at COP27 and plans for future climate activism.

Interviewee profile: Kentaro Yamamoto

Kentaro Yamamoto
Fridays For Future, Co-founder of Fridays For Future Japan Climate Justice Project
Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1997, raised in Kanagawa Prefecture. Currently, lives in Tokyo. Launched the “Climate Justice Project” in 2021 to change the current situation where the lives of people in the global South are being treated lightly in light of the climate crisis. Works with Bangladeshi activists on an international campaign to end Japan’s coal-fired power projects in Bangladesh.

Their conference trip started with the Conference of Youth 17, from November 2 to 4. Then they joined COP27.

At this COP, freedom of speech was restricted. Not only were Egyptian NGOs and activists not allowed to attend the event, but activists were also not permitted outside the venue. Despite these conditions, FFF Japan had plans to take two main actions, said Yamamoto. The first was to directly accuse Japanese companies and the government over their financial support for a fossil-fuel, power-plant project in Bangladesh, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project. The other plan was to build a strong network with activists from MAPA for future protest actions.

Japanese public needs to hear what damage its big firms & govt is causing

According to Yamamoto, climate activism in Japan has mainly involved disseminating general messages about key issues, such as temperature rises and carbon emissions. But these messages have not addressed the core of the issue, he said.

“In climate change, there are perpetrators and victims. There are people greatly affected by climate change, while polluting companies are burning fossil fuels,” Yamamoto said. One example of perpetrators and victims in the climate crisis is the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) working on the coal-fired power-generation plant project in Matarbari, Bangladesh. More than 20,000 people have lost their jobs, houses, and properties there. This is recognized globally and Japan received another “Fossil of the Day” award at COP27 from the Climate Action Network for having invested the largest amount of public money in fossil fuel projects in the world.

However, in Japan, these inconvenient facts about big corporations are not spoken about and are not known about in society. That is why it is important to send the message that there are people suffering due to such perpetrators. Yamamoto emphasized the need for activism that makes the reality of the actions of the Japanese government and companies in Asian countries visible to more people.

For instance, the Matarbari project, with a loan of approximately 500 trillion yen, is JICA’s largest-ever investment. Sumitomo Corporation is also involved in the project. FFF Japan plans to issue public questionnaires to organizations backing such projects. Many protests have also been organized in front of Sumitomo Corporation headquarters in Tokyo and its branch offices in Nagoya and Sendai, Yamamoto said.

Using COP27 to question JICA on its actions

Speaking of JICA, FFF Japan had a chance to face off against JICA at COP27. JICA was one of the Japanese organizations that gave a presentation at the Japan Pavilion there. The topic was “decarbonization in Asia.” FFF Japan members attended the event with activist Farzana Faruk Jhumu from Bangladesh to ask JICA to withdraw from the Matarbari project.

After the whole presentation, which focused on how supportive both public and private Japanese organizations are toward decarbonization in Asia, the activists raised their hands and asked, “Have you heard of the Matarbari project? Are you aware of what is happening there?” They continued to say that they want to know if JICA will continue with the project or not. There was only one JICA member at this event but there were many witnesses.

A speech on degrowth & exploitation of Asian resources

Yamamoto made a speech at the German pavilion with Farzana Faruk Jhumu, an activist from Bangladesh, on the theme of “degrowth.” Yamamoto spoke about how Japan’s rapid economic growth after WWII was possible and what was happening behind the scenes. He explained that Japan was taking resources from its Asian neighbors and that the Matarbari project is an extension of what Japan has been doing historically to grow economically.

Degrowth is essential to put an end to the exploitation of resources from the Global South. The ongoing harm to the Global South will not stop unless we shift away from a system of unlimited economic growth. Yamamoto stressed the need for developed countries, including Japan, to change the conventional standards that focus on economic growth. As for Japan, it has been deeply involved economically in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia and more recently India and Bangladesh, and has caused a significant degree of harm through excessive use of their resources, he said.

Japan Environment Minister withdraws his invitation to talk

At COP27, a member of FFF Japan was invited to a private meeting by the Japanese Minister for the Environment because he wished to “talk with young people.” FFF Japan members were skeptical about this. They wondered why he had invited only one person even though he claimed to want to talk with young people, and wondered why it had to be a private meeting. So, FFF Japan visited the minister with a few other activists from MAPA and said that they wanted to talk with him openly. In response, the minister said, “I am too busy with other duties” and hid behind the door of the waiting room. It was a disappointing display of insincerity.

The COP format has reached its limits

Though many youth activists tried their best to have their voices heard at COP27, the conference was perhaps the least publicly open COP ever. Hearing these stories about some of the things that went on behind the scenes helps us to understand why agreements on action to reverse climate damage are so slow in coming, and reveals the need for greater public awareness of the actions – or inaction – that our representatives are taking,

In all, 27 COP conferences have been held since 1995, but we have not even reached an agreement to stop the development of fossil fuel projects, let alone stop temperature rises. Based on his experiences at COP27, Yamamoto feels the limits of the conference. COP was supposed to be a forum for governments, major organizations and civil society to work together to tackle climate issues, but it has turned into a platform for governments to make empty promises, and companies to try to greenwash us with environmental practices that are too good to be true.

Plans for future climate activism

Given this reality, Yamamoto said there needs to be activism outside the COP framework. In particular, activities focused on Asian regions are important. To make more activism possible, Yamamoto said they plan to launch a comprehensive fossil-fuel abolition movement of environmental activists from all over Asia.

Despite the limitations of COP, FFF Japan made some achievements there in the form of new connections with activists from Asian countries and discussion with them about collaborative action in the future. Yamamoto said that the G7 summit due to be held in Hiroshima in May is an opportunity to raise their voices together with activists from Asia. We look forward to seeing what FFF Japan gets up to this year.

We also look forward to hearing from readers who get involved with FFF and other groups. In a message to Zenbird readers, Yamamoto said, “We cannot leave climate issues to politicians and entrepreneurs. Each and every one of us has to raise our voices. That is the key.”

Mark your calendar: Worldwide protests against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)

Starting on February 22nd, at 12:00 PM (Japan Time), there will be worldwide protests against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in more than 10 countries across four continents, including cities such as Johannesburg, London, Brussels, Paris, and Japan. This Instagram reel explains the upcoming climate action.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stop EACOP (@stopeacop)

The focus of the protests will be on Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Standard Bank, who are serving as consultants on the EACOP project. In Japan, demonstrations will take place at the headquarters and branches of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Tokyo, Nagoya, Sendai, and Fukuoka. The exact meeting times for each location will be announced at a later date.

This action comes at an critical timing and is of great importance because the project is set to finalize the bank financing for EACOP in March. Learn more about #StopEACOP on 350.org’s website and Stop EACOP Instagram account. You may also find connect with your local Fridays For Future group for the latest updates.

More on climate crisis and actions in Japan