"Open Letter to Bangkok Bank, CIMB, DZ Bank, Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Krungthai Bank, Land and House Bank, OCBC, Siam Commercial Bank,TMBThanachart Bank on urgent concerns regarding Burapa Power Project in Thailand", 6 December 2025

We are Fossil Free Thailand, a coalition of civil society organizations from Thailand and across Asia. We would like to bring to your attention the serious community, financial, environmental, and climate risks associated with the planned 600 MW Burapa Power Project — a natural gas–fired combined-cycle power plant in Chachoengsao province, jointly developed by National Power Supply PLC and Gulf Development PCL…

Financial Risk

According to recent financial analysis, up to 67% of Thailand’s fossil fuel power capacity may be stranded by 2040, with total stranded losses reaching 530 billion THB under a full renewable transition scenario. As a large gas-fired power plant, Burapa Power Project is particularly vulnerable to this transition risk, a material concern that many of your own Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reports explicitly identify. This risk is further highlighted by the Thailand Taxonomy, which classifies new gas power plants (projects receiving construction permits after December 31, 2023) as red…

Misalignment with International Environmental Consideration

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) marked a turning point, signaling what many describe as the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era. A key outcome of the historic agreement was the first global stocktake, which underscored the urgent need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 43% from 2019 levels by 2030 in order to remain aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its 2023 Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway to Keep the 1.5 °C Goal in Reach, reaffirmed its conclusion from 2021 that achieving net-zero by 2050 requires no new coal, oil, or natural gas projects.

Against this backdrop, the proposed Burapa Power Project stands in direct contradiction to the 1.5°C pathway and international climate goals. Financing new gas power plants such as Burapa creates significant risks to your institution’s credibility, reputation, and long-term climate alignment. With gas power plants typically operating for 25–30 years, financial support for Burapa would lock in fossil fuel infrastructure well past 2050, undermining both global net-zero pathways and the commitments made under the Paris Agreement…

Transmission Line Dispute

The construction of high-voltage transmission lines needed to connect Burapa Power Project to a nearby substation caused serious concern among affected communities as it may result in severe restrictions on the land owners’ rights to use their land, or complete loss of their land. The transmission line construction is expected to affect at least 51 families, putting local livelihoods, food security, and economic stability at risk…

A group of landowners has filed administrative lawsuits, which have been accepted by the Administrative Court of Thailand, arguing that the project violates legal requirements for public hearings and meaningful participation of affected communities. The affected landowners argue that the project is proceeding without their consent as the consultation process excluded many residents who are directly impacted by the project and failed to ensure full disclosure of critical information for informed decision-making…

Severe Water Stress and Resource Conflict Risks

Burapa Power Project will further strain Chachoengsao’s already scarce water resources, intensifying competition between industrial users and local communities who depend on the same water sources. The project’s planned extraction of 12,000 cubic meters of water per day will exacerbate existing water stress and heighten the risk of resource conflicts…

Burapa Power project’s additional demand of 12,000 m³ per day, significant given existing water stress, will intensify competition for limited resources. This heightens the risk of severe water scarcity and raises legitimate concerns among local communities and stakeholders about potential resource conflicts, threatening both human livelihoods and ecosystem sustainability…

We oppose the Burapa Power project because of the threats it poses to the future of our communities in Chachoengsao province. The proposed project poses permanent, irreversible and existential threats to critical aspects of our livelihoods, culture and environment.

Our concerns about those risks have been exacerbated by the lack of meaningful community consultation and participation in project design. At least 62 individuals have already been exposed to risks of restrictions to access and use their farmland without adequate compensation. For all of these reasons, Burapa Power project is an incredibly high-risk project from the perspective of environmental harm as well as social risks and should be excluded from any investment by your institution, including investments through financial intermediaries…