UPDATE 1-Environmental groups ask lenders to avoid LNG project in Papua New Guinea

Major global lenders should refuse to finance a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea to help keep global warming in check, civil society groups said on Wednesday, as some owners tap banks ahead of a final greenlight next year. The Papua LNG project is incompatible with keeping global warming below 1.5 C because of the emissions produced when the gas is burnt by customers, according to an open letter from a coalition of 50 environment and social justice groups. The letter was sent to tens of major banks and public lenders in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia who had financed an earlier LNG project in the country or TotalEnergies projects in the Asia Pacific region since 2018.