[EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear all,
Next Tuesday, 5th of June, in cities all over Europe there are demonstrations being held at offices of the French bank BNP Paribas. BNP Paribas is the only private bank in Europe that is funding Belene, a dangerous nuclear power plant to be built in Bulgaria. On Tuesday, UN World Environmental Day, people are protesting at BNP Paribas offices to show their concern about funding this potential nuclear disaster. The Belene Nuclear Power Plant is situated in an area in Bulgaria at high risk of earthquakes. The project was abandoned in the 1990s following a scientific assessment that warned that the area was not suitable for a nuclear reactor. However, the Bulgarian government reversed its decision and in 2003 announced they would restart the project. The reactors planned are of a Russian design which has not been through full safety testing and has never before been built in Europe. Eleven other international banks have refused to finance the project. On 14 May 2007, BNP Paribas won the tender for a 250 million Euro loan to finance the first year of planning and construction of Belene. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Attached is a letter to the management of BNP Paribas. You can copy it in a new email message and express your concern to the management as well For more information see http://www.foeeurope.org/publications/2007/Belene.chronology.pdf and http://www.bluelink.net/belene/index-en.shtml === addresses == * Michel Pébereau , Président of BNP-Pariba, [EMAIL PROTECTED] * M. Baudouin Prot, Director of BNP-Paribas, [EMAIL PROTECTED] * MM. Jean Favarel, Sustainable Development Department, [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Marc Dumoulin, Sustainable Development Department, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Don't forget to sign the letter! === letter === Subject : BNP Paribas : say no to Belene nuclear power plant Bulgaria Dear Sir It is with great concern that I have learned that your bank intends to finance the first phase of construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria. The irresponsible financing of this dangerous nuclear project is not only a financial risk to your shareholders and customers, but also a safety risk to all Europeans. The Belene project is one of the worst cases of nuclear power planning over the last decades. The proposed NPP is to be sited in an earthquake region, where in only 14 km distance 120 people died in an earthquake in 1977. The Environmental Impact Assessment of the project is strongly flawed and fails to address many relevant issues, including the seismic risks. The proposed reactor design has not been licensed before in Europe and in its proposed form is a first-of-its-kind. This brings not only extra safety risks, it also brings huge financial risks for investors as it is extremely unlikely that the power station will be finished in time, and within the proposed budget. It is also clear, that this reactor type would never be able to get an operation licence in France or any other Western European country BNP Paribas would therefore be applying double standards if it finances a project, which does not meet the safety standards required in its home country. Worrying is also the fact that you are willing to finance such a risky project in a country, which has had an extremely bad nuclear track record over the past decade. By way of illustration: only one year ago, the Bulgarian authorities tried to silence an INES 2 incident in the Kozloduy nuclear power station that was described by experts as "driving on a highway full speed without brakes". As a supposed advocate of sustainability, BNP Paribas should be aware that Bulgaria is the most wasteful country in Europe, when energy is concerned and that the Bulgarian government never took a serious look at alternatives to Belene. We would therefore gladly support investments of your bank in energy efficiency there. Also the development of renewable energy sources in Bulgaria has not received much attention and would be a possibility for investment. Ten banks already withdrew from the project or indicated they would heavily scrutinize it under strict conditions, because it was developed in a corrupt environment, it is a technological and safety risk, it is environmentally unsound, and certainly not the most cost-efficient solution for the problems it is supposed to address. Amongst these banks were well known names like Société Génerale, KBC, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and Credit Suisse. For all the reasons stated above I ask you to reconsider your intention to finance the Belene NPP. BNP Paribas should not forget, that in its main markets, nuclear power is the most unpopular form of energy production. An investment into the controversial Belene project will have repercussions for your reputation, your customer base and your standing with institutional investors, environmental rating agencies and SRI fund managers. Sincerely yours, Subject : BNP Paribas : say no to Belene nuclear power plant Bulgaria Dear Sir It is with great concern that I have learned that your bank intends to finance the first phase of construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Bulgaria. The irresponsible financing of this dangerous nuclear project is not only a financial risk to your shareholders and customers, but also a safety risk to all Europeans. The Belene project is one of the worst cases of nuclear power planning over the last decades. The proposed NPP is to be sited in an earthquake region, where in only 14 km distance 120 people died in an earthquake in 1977. The Environmental Impact Assessment of the project is strongly flawed and fails to address many relevant issues, including the seismic risks. The proposed reactor design has not been licensed before in Europe and in its proposed form is a first-of-its-kind. This brings not only extra safety risks, it also brings huge financial risks for investors as it is extremely unlikely that the power station will be finished in time, and within the proposed budget. It is also clear, that this reactor type would never be able to get an operation licence in France or any other Western European country â?" BNP Paribas would therefore be applying double standards if it finances a project, which does not meet the safety standards required in its home country. Worrying is also the fact that you are willing to finance such a risky project in a country, which has had an extremely bad nuclear track record over the past decade. By way of illustration: only one year ago, the Bulgarian authorities tried to silence an INES 2 incident in the Kozloduy nuclear power station that was described by experts as â?odriving on a highway full speed without brakesâ?. As a supposed advocate of sustainability, BNP Paribas should be aware that Bulgaria is the most wasteful country in Europe, when energy is concerned and that the Bulgarian government never took a serious look at alternatives to Belene. We would therefore gladly support investments of your bank in energy efficiency there. Also the development of renewable energy sources in Bulgaria has not received much attention and would be a possibility for investment. Ten banks already withdrew from the project or indicated they would heavily scrutinize it under strict conditions, because it was developed in a corrupt environment, it is a technological and safety risk, it is environmentally unsound, and certainly not the most cost-efficient solution for the problems it is supposed to address. Amongst these banks were well known names like Société Génerale, KBC, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and Credit Suisse. For all the reasons stated above I ask you to reconsider your intention to finance the Belene NPP. BNP Paribas should not forget, that in its main markets, nuclear power is the most unpopular form of energy production. An investment into the controversial Belene project will have repercussions for your reputation, your customer base and your standing with institutional investors, environmental rating agencies and SRI fund managers. Sincerely yours, -- Puteti contribui cu 2% din venitul Dvs. la combaterea defrisarilor abuzive. Detalii cont la: www.arin.ro Sageata Albastra e cea mai mare tzeapa a transportului public! Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/protest-ro/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/protest-ro/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
