Ex-Im Bank rejects coal-fired plant in Vietnam
Ex-Im Bank rejects financing for coal-fired plant in Vietnam; cites effect on global warming
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States has rejected a proposal to provide financing for a new coal-fired power plant in Vietnam.
The bank's board of directors cites the project's likely effect on global warming in its vote on Thursday.
President Barack Obama said last month that the U.S. will no longer support building coal-fired power plants abroad as part of an effort to curtail global greenhouse gas emissions.
The bank says in a statement that the vote against the Vietnam project came after "careful environmental review" of the project's expected greenhouse gas production.
Environmental groups call the vote on the 1,200-megawatt plant the first test of whether the administration will follow through on Obama's pledge, made as part of a wide-ranging call for action to reduce global warming.
