The Mozambican civil society group Justica Ambiental and three South Korean individuals have filed a lawsuit seeking to block funding for a $7.2bn gas project in the southern African nation, according to the Global Trade Review (GTR).

The plaintiffs appealed to the Seoul Central District Court to stop the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-Sure) from providing $1.9bn in loans and guarantees for the proposed floating 3.55mn-tonnes-per-annum (mtpa) liquefied natural gas (LNG) venture to be developed by Italian firm Eni.

“The financial agreements are expected to be finalised within the first half of 2025, raising concerns that public funds will once again be used to support fossil fuel expansion abroad,” GTR wrote on May 30, citing a statement from Solutions for Our Climate, a non-profit that helped organise the filing.

Italian oil major Eni has been operating the $4.6bn Coral South Floating LNG project in Mozambique since late 2022. The project was built using funding provided by institutions in South Korea, Italy, France and China.  First gas at the proposed one is expected in the second half of 2028.

“The projected greenhouse gas emissions of 489mn tons of CO2-equivalent during the lifecycle of the project can be compared to the total annual emissions of 10 cities the size of New York City,” Solutions for Our Climate argues, according to GTR.