New Delhi: A coalition of 174 civil society organisations, networks, and activists has written to the World Bank’s board of directors, urging them to reject funding for four waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration projects proposed by Abellon Clean Energy Limited (ACEL) in Rajkot, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Jamnagar in Gujarat.The letter, written by the Centre for Financial Accountability, International Accountability Project, National Hawkers Federation, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)-Asia Pacific, and Break Free From Plastics and endorsed by 174 civil society organisations, regional and global networks and activists, underlines that the projects would burn over 3,750 tons of garbage daily and generate CO2 equivalent to the emissions from about 18,75,000 cars. The harmful impacts of WTE incinerators have been documented in the subproject in Jamnagar where the incinerator has been operational since November 2021, the collective mentions. Further, the letter underlines that ever since the operation of the plant, the local residents have faced issues of noise pollution, air pollution, deposition of effluent smog on their residences, water pollution and severe health impacts. “Due to the violations seen in Jamnagar, civil society organisations and activists in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Rajkot are worried about the environmental and health impacts on communities staying in the vicinity of the proposed WTE incinerators, if these are constructed. The incinerator in Ahmedabad which has only been partially built is being constructed in Gyaspur village, on the outskirts of the city, where there is already another incinerator by Jindal Power operating nearby and there are many other polluting industries. Due to the pollution generated by the existing incinerators and other industries, communities residing here have already been suffering from severe health impacts with many reported cases of cancer. Construction of another WTE incinerator in such an area will bear cumulative health and environmental impacts,” the collective letter says.The coalition argues that the projects’ environmental and social impact assessments are flawed and violate both the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and Indian environmental laws. Despite being considered a “red category” project in India for its massive environmental and social risks, this project has been given a lower risk rating of “Category B” by the IFC, as per the collective. Also read: NDMA Sends Experts to Assess Flood Risk in Six ‘High-Risk’ Glacial Lakes in Arunachal: Report“The diluted and flawed environment and social impact assessment by IFC for these toxic WTE incinerators that contribute to excessive pollution and are linked to fossil fuels indicates that IFC has not been compliant to its safeguards and also to the Paris Agreement,” says Vaishnavi Varadarajan from the International Accountability Project, in a press statement released by the coalition.They also point out that the projects threaten the livelihoods of waste workers and are a “false solution” to the climate crisis, producing excessive pollution and undermining sustainable waste management practices.“WTE incinerators are poised to become the most carbon-intensive power source once coal is phased out. Burning a tonne of plastic waste alone results in the release of around 1.43 tonnes of CO2. It destroys recycling, reuse, and refill options and disincentives reduction of producing new materials so less will have to be managed as wastes,” says Miriam Mayang Azurin, asia pacific deputy director at GAIA, in the press statement.The World Bank’s funding of these projects would be contradictory to its commitment to environmental protection and community well-being, the coalition says. They have urged the World Bank to prioritise sustainable energy solutions and reject the funding for ACEL’s waste-to-energy initiatives.“We therefore strongly urge you as directors of the World Bank to consider the scientific and public evidence presented above, to respect human rights, and to be true to the Bank’s commitment to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement goals, by not only voting against the loan to Abellon Clean Energy Limited, but to halt all finance to waste-to-energy incinerator projects,” the collective writes. Collective letter is written by: Endorsed by: Samast Machimar Samaj, Gujarat, India Vadodaraa Jan Samiti, Gujarat, India Peoples Union of Civil Liberties-PUCL, Gujarat Maldhari Vikas Sanghatan, Gujarat, India SEVA, Gujarat, India Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat, India Rahethan Adhikar Manch – Gujarat-Ahmedabad, India KKPKP, Pune, Maharashtra, India SWaCH Cooperative, Maharashtra, India Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society, Maharashtra, India Bargi Bandh Visthapit Evam Parbhavit Sangh, Madhya Pradesh, India 12. Poovalugin Nanbargal, Tamil Nadu, India Plachimada Solidarity Organisation, Trivandrum, India Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim, India Affected Citizens of Teesta, Sikkim, India Zero Waste Himalaya, India Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Odisha, India Information Resource Centre For Urban Deprived Communities, Tamil Nadu, India 19. Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation Delhi Forum, India National Alliance for People’s Movements, India MAUSAM- Movement for Advancing Understanding of Sustainability And Mutuality, India SANDRP, India Toxics Watch, India Focus on the Global South, India Waste to Biogas to Energy Startup Innovation Network, India Eco Circular India Foundation, India Sambhaavnaa Institute Youth for Climate, India Mines,minerals and People, India Nadi Ghati Morcha, India All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh, India Joint Action for Water, India Waste Warriors, India Warrior Moms, India We the Change Trust, India Warrior Moms, India Indigenous Perspectives, India Ajeevika Bureau, India Samata, India South Asian Solidarity Collective, India Friends of the Earth, India Centre For Labour Research and Action, India National Land Coalition – International Land Coalition 45. Indian Social Action Forum Green Army International, India Anhad, India Stree Mukti Sanghatan, India Coastal Women’s Movement, India International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, India MCC, India Grambangla Unnayan Committee, Bangladesh Participatory Research & Action Network – PRAAN, Bangladesh 54. Alternative Law Collective, Pakistan Lahore Conservation Society, Pakistan Pak Trading, Pakistan Pakistan Fisherfolk Form, Pakistan EcoCare Consultancy Services (ECCS) Private Limited 59. Clean Up Nepal, Nepal Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF360), Nepal 61. Samyukta Safai Jagaran, Nepal Community Empowement and Social Justice, Nepal Indigenous Women’s Legal Awareness Group, Nepal Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation, Nepal 65. Centre for Environment Justice, Pakistan Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Sri Lanka 67. FIAN Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Nature Group – SLNG, Sri Lanka National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, Sri Lanka Thant, Myanmar Alyansa Tigil Mina, Philippines EcoWaste Coalition, Philippines War on Waste Negros Oriental, Philippines Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), Malaysia Consumers’ Association of Penang, Malaysia Trend Asia, Indonesia Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia The Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI), Indonesia 79. TKPT,Indonesia Bai Waste Platform, Indonesia Ecoton, Indonesia Brantas River Waterkeeper, Indonesia NOWASTE SURABAYA, Indonesia Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat (IMA), Indonesia KSPPM, Indonesia AMAN Maluku, Indonesia Yayasan Srikandi Lestari, Indonesia SERUNI, Indonesia Pacific Environment Vietnam, Vietnam SCODE, Vietnam Equitable Cambodia, Cambodia Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia Terra Pheonix, Singapore Greeners Action, Hong Kong Blue Dailan, China Korea Zero Waste Movement Network, Korea Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Uzbekistan ACARO, Uzbekistan PA “Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan “, Kyrgystan FORUM- Asia, Asia (Regional) NGO Forum on ADB, Asia (Regional) Reality of Aid-Asia Pacific, Asia (Regional) Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development, Asia (Regional) 104. 350 Asia, Asia (Regional) Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders, Asia (Regional) 106. Sankalp Gramotthan Bahuddeshiya Sanstha, Asia (Regional) Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE), Armenia 108. Friends of the Earth Spain, Spain Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, United Kingdom 110. Polish Zero Waste Association, Poland The Bretton Woods Project, United Kingdom (Global) Recourse, Netherlands (Global) Urgewald, Germany (Global) Environment and Language Education Trust, South Africa Mapela Executive Committee, South Africa JUHUDI Community Support Center, Kenya Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya Endorois Welfare Council (EWC), Kenya Green Advocates International (Liberia) Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Liberia Center for Environment/Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bosnia and Herzegovina Les Amis de la Terre-Togo, Togo Care For Environment, Cameroon, Africa Host Communities Network of Nigeria ( HoCoN), Nigeria Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation, Uganda National Association of professional Environmentalists(NAPE), Uganda 127. Zimbabwe People’s Land Rights Movement, Zimbabwe Dibeen For Environmental development, Jordan Consejo Indígena Maya Ch’orti de Olopa Chiquimula, Guatemala 130. ANAFAE, Honduras AMFER, El Salvador CAMBIUM, Colombia Otros Mundos Chapas/Amigos de la Tierra México, Mexico Center for International Environmental Law, United States (Global) Trash Hero World, Global Saahas, India Chennai Climate Action Group(CCAG), India 138. Vinod Sonera, India Ramachandra Rao, India Namuna Amjad, India Priya Jain, India Rosamma Thomas, India Priyanka Raj, India Avinash Kumar India Ayesha Khan, India Swati Desai, India Rohini Malur, India Ramnarayan, India Bhavna Sharma, India Ambily Adithyan, India K Saravanan, India Selvakumar, India Dhilipan K, India Ashok, Tamil Nadu, India Jamunarai, India Salma Sumi, India Kobad Ghandy, India Renuka Kad, India John, India Hirak Bandyopadhyay, India Nikhilkumar Panchal, India Prashanth, India Dr. Sultan Mahmood, Pakistan David Jens Thomas Pedersen, Canada 165. Jenny Sundarrajan Prabhakaran Veeraarasu 168. SARAVANAN T M 169. Anu Yukendran Kamaraj Bharat Balaji S SABARESANSalma Sumi, IndiaKobad Ghandy, IndiaRenuka Kad, IndiaJohn, IndiaHirak Bandyopadhyay, IndiaNikhilkumar Panchal, IndiaPrashanth, IndiaDr. Sultan Mahmood, PakistanDavid Jens Thomas Pedersen, CanadaJennySundarrajanPrabhakaran VeeraarasuSARAVANAN T MAnuYukendranKamarajBharatBalaji SSABARESAN