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Coal Climate Showdown in Bangladesh
The bulldozers are warming up: any moment now a massively destructive coal mine could be approved in northwest Bangladesh that would displace tens of thousands of families, destroy vital farmland, and devastate mangrove forests that protect the climate-fragile country from rising sea levels.
A movement of local protesters has stopped the mine once before, and this week they bravely blocked major roads in a desperate bid for the government’s attention. But the global consortium backing the mine has launched a massive lobbying effort to win, flying MPs to Europe for VIP coal tours. Wikileaks cables even show the US ambassador lobbying for them.
Now, the movement has appealed to our global network for solidarity — to raise a worldwide outcry to counter the international financiers and stop this mine. Prime Minister Hasina has spoken out against the mine, but she is under enormous pressure to approve it. Let’s build a massive petition urging the Prime Minister to side with her citizens and their environment by rejecting the devastating mine — local organisations will deliver it to the Prime Minister and consortium if we reach 300,000 signatures.