News
New publication by Dieter Reinhardt
Dieter
Reinhardt's study 'Coal, Capital and Conflict, The Rampal Power Plant
in Bangladesh, the Protection of the Sundarbans and the Role of German
Companies' has been published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. In it, he
describes the causes for the extreme
endangerment of the Sundarbans, the largest contiguous mangrove forest
area in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers a large
part of the coast of Bangladesh and is a natural protective barrier
against the increasingly strong cyclones in the
Bay of Bengal triggered by climate change. Only a few kilometres north
of this protected area, the "Rampal" coal-fired power plant is being
built, in which the Stuttgart-based company Fichtner GmbH is
significantly involved.
For almost 10 years, Fichtner GmbH has been the lead engineering
firm for the construction of this power plant and the associated Mongla
coal port. The Rampal power plant will go into operation in the course
of 2022. In the future, about 200 container
ships per year will pass through the mangroves to supply the power plant
with almost 4 million tonnes of imported coal. Waste and pollutants
threaten the regional ecosystem and the population. The construction is
justified with the necessary industrialisation
of the country.
The author shows why the construction of this coal-fired power plant is an anachronism. Bangladesh has very large, almost untapped potentials of renewable energies, which are considerably cheaper than fossil fuels. Despite very large and diverse protests in Bangladesh and numerous studies by scientists inside and outside Bangladesh showing the very large negative impacts of the power plant on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sundarbans, the construction of the power plant could not be prevented. In Germany, limited criticism of the extensive involvement of Fichtner GmbH in this power plant project began very late.
The author shows why the construction of this coal-fired power plant is an anachronism. Bangladesh has very large, almost untapped potentials of renewable energies, which are considerably cheaper than fossil fuels. Despite very large and diverse protests in Bangladesh and numerous studies by scientists inside and outside Bangladesh showing the very large negative impacts of the power plant on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sundarbans, the construction of the power plant could not be prevented. In Germany, limited criticism of the extensive involvement of Fichtner GmbH in this power plant project began very late.
Posted on 12 May 2022
Webmaster: jk