Tibet groups urge Miliband to stand up for climate justice in Tibet during China trip

Ahead of Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband’s visit to China, UK-based Tibetans and Tibet campaign groups have called on him to press Chinese officials on climate justice for Tibet.

In a joint letter, groups including Free Tibet stated that energy cooperation with China must not come at the cost of Tibet’s environment, human rights, and cultural heritage. They called for a series of tangible measures to ensure that energy cooperation is tied to Tibetan rights.

Miliband’s meeting is happening against a backdrop of increasing exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources by the Chinese government and protests by Tibetans. In recent years, China has increased the proliferation of extraction and megadevelopment projects across the Tibetan plateau. A series of new hydropower dams are being constructed across Tibet’s rivers, including the announcement in December of the Medog hydropower station, the world’s largest hydropower dam. 

In February 2024, unprecedented mass protests broke out in Dege County against the Kamtok hydropower dam, which will flood villages and destroy six monasteries with 500-year-old Buddhist frescoes. The protests were met by  mass arrests and prompted thirteen UN human rights experts to raise serious concerns over the destructive impact of the dam with the Chinese government and China Huadian, the state-owned energy company responsible for its construction. 

Later last year, the 19th century Atosk Monastery was demolished and subsequently flooded after the construction of the world’s largest 3D-printed dam on the Machu River. 160 monks were made homeless during the destruction of their monastery.

At the same the mass displacement of millions of rural Tibetans has taken place, removing nomads and farmers from their pastures and into urbanised settlements. Environmental defenders who speak out, such as Tsongon Tsering, have been imprisoned.  

Citing the Labour government’s stated commitment to human rights, climate justice and responsible business conduct, the UK-based Tibetans and Tibet groups behind the letter called on Ed Miliband to “reject any cooperation or partnerships involving China Huadian or other companies involved in megadevelopment projects in occupied Tibet, and to support the call by the Tibetan people for an immediate moratorium on environmentally damaging projects in Tibet.”