Ed Miliband is set to visit China on 17 March
Media Release: Ed Miliband urged to stand up for climate justice in Tibet during China trip
13 March 2025
LONDON: 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 the letter, the Minister is urged to be cautious in negotiations with China on energy cooperation stating that any partnership 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.
China’s occupation of Tibet has lasted for over seven decades and is one of the last remnants of 20th-century colonialism. It is characterised by human rights violations, including the exploitation of Tibetan resources through mining and megadevelopment projects and the mass displacement of millions of rural Tibetans. These policies have been imposed with the consent of occupied Tibetans, with environmental defenders such as Tsongon Tsering imprisoned. In February 2025, Freedom House gave Tibet a score of zero out of a hundred for civil liberties and political rights; scoring it lower than North Korea, Sudan and the Gaza Strip.
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 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.
In light of the new 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.” The groups have stated that this would send a clear signal to the Chinese leadership that the UK is prepared to champion environmental rights even as it negotiates future partnerships with China, setting a crucial precedent for other countries to follow.
Tara Lhamo, Voluntary Tibetan Advocacy Group UK, “As Ed Miliband prepares to meet with Chinese officials, we urge him to leverage the UK’s significant influence as a key partner to demand an end to China’s unchecked megadevelopment in Tibet. The UK must prioritise its core values and democratic principles over short-term economic gains. We call on the Climate Minister to also meet with Tibet groups and community members upon his return. Anything less would be a betrayal of the UK’s commitment to human rights and climate justice.”
John Jones, Free Tibet “China’s policies in Tibet are socially damaging, unsustainable and undemocratic. It is crucial that the wider world wakes up to Tibetans’ struggle to protect their very existence as a people in the face of this rampant, ravenous megadevelopment. That includes the UK, which has the voice to oppose policies that not only disrupt Tibet but billions across south Asia. Ed Miliband carries a massive responsibility with his visit to China and must ensure that he does not sell these people out.”
Pema Yoko from Tibet Action Institute, “Tibetans are the true guardians of their land, yet under China’s occupation they bear the brunt of destructive environmental and developmental policies they have absolutely no say in. Tibetan people, heritage and culture all suffer from disastrous mega projects while their traditional stewardship of the land is erased. This is all exacerbated by climate change. Therefore the UK must reject all partnerships with Chinese companies exploiting Tibet. Milliband must ensure Tibetan voices, not those of foreign colonisers, are heard—otherwise these climate talks are meaningless. Ignoring Tibet will also undermine the UK’s commitment to human rights, sustainability, and ethical practices.”
Rashi Jauhri, International Tibet Network “Tibet is already warming three times faster than the rest of the planet and as the world’s third pole, Tibet’s ecological collapse has catastrophic implications for all of us. Ed Miliband must remember that his meeting with Chinese leaders is not just a diplomatic nicety but it’s happening at the cusp of a climate emergency. We must confront China’s climate atrocities in Tibet, and secure binding commitments to protect its land, its people and its ecosystem, or risk being complicit in the destruction of our planet.”
“We urge Ed Miliband to prioritise human rights and environmental protection in his talks with China,” said Phuntsok Norbu, Tibetan Community in Britain. “The UK government must not turn a blind eye to China’s atrocities in Tibet. He must stand in solidarity with the Tibetan people and demand that China respects our rights and protects our environment.”
Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren, Tibet Solidarity “Tibet’s environmental defenders are not only on the front line of the climate crisis but are brutally targeted by the Chinese government. Effective community leaders and environmental activists have been arrested on false charges, tortured and imprisoned. Nomads who understand how to steward the land have been forcibly relocated, their lives destroyed. Writers and musicians have been censored, arrested, disappeared. It’s no coincidence that everyone who raises their voice against China’s mega developments in Tibet is silenced. Climate justice and human rights cannot be separated – Ed Miliband needs to understand this and must urge China to do the same.”
Contact:
John Jones, Free Tibet: john@freetibet.org +44 7591 188383
Rashi Jauhri, International Tibet Network: rashi@tibetnetwork.org +44 7587 094876
Notes to Editor
- Free Tibet,Tibetan Community in Britain, International Tibet Network, Students For a Free Tibet, Tibet Action Institute, Tibet Solidarity, Voluntary Tibetan Advocacy Group UK’s Open Letter to UK’s Energy & Climate Minister Ed Miliband https://tibetnetwork.org/openletter-ed/
- Reject any cooperation or partnerships involving China Huadian or other companies involved in megadevelopment projects in occupied Tibet.
- Support the call by the Tibetan people for an immediate moratorium on environmentally damaging projects in Tibet.
- Where megadevelopment projects are going ahead, urge the Chinese authorities to uphold Tibetan rights by:
- Ensuring impacted communities have free, prior, and informed consent;
- Stopping all forced displacement of communities;
- Protecting civil and political rights so Tibetans can voice concerns without fear of persecution.
- Ensuring all impacted communities have the right to enjoy effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy
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- Insist China cease the criminalisation of Tibetan environmental defenders and immediately and unconditionally release those detained for their work to protect Tibet’s environment, including Tsongon Tsering
- Press for meaningful and unfettered access to Tibet for independent human rights monitors, including Dege County and affected monasteries in the area
- Freedom House, 2023, Global Freedom Score, https://freedomhouse.org/country/tibet/freedom-world/2025
- GEOGRAPHICAL NOTE: ‘Tibet’ refers to the three Tibetan provinces of Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang. In the 1960s, the Chinese government split Tibet into new administrative divisions: the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures within Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces. When the Chinese government references Tibet, it is referring to the TAR.
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