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Asian Development Bank: Go Fossil Free
The Asian Development Bank, one of the major regional players in energy finance, is currently revising its energy policy — and could decide to end its fossil fuel financing.
There’s real cause to believe the bank may change course. ADB management has conceded that its energy policy “is no longer adequately aligned with the global consensus on climate change, the ongoing global transformation of the energy sector, and operational priorities of ADB’s new Strategy 2030.”
Tell the Asian Development Bank to pledge to lead the transition to a fossil-free future by cutting ties with the fossil fuel industry.
President, Asian Development Bank
Dear President Asakawa,
The evidence is clear: the climate emergency is a real threat to the world as we know it. We are at a critical moment in this crisis, and actions taken now will impact people’s lives for many years to come. It is vital that public money is not used to further exacerbate this crisis but instead invest in clean solutions that benefit people, communities, and the environment.
The ADB’s continued support for fossil fuels undermines its mission to achieve a “prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific" and undercuts its commitment to climate action.
Many public banks are turning away from coal, gas and oil. The ADB should not get left behind, and the review of your energy policy is an opportune moment to show leadership and invest in a clean, green future. I call on the Asian Development Bank to commit to end finance for all dirty fossil fuel projects and increase support for a just transition to clean energy that protects our planet and all people.
Preventing runaway climate change requires an immediate end to fossil fuel finance, and public money must not be used to subsidise fossil fuels. Instead, it must be used to invest in sustainable, renewable energy that ensures everyone has access to clean energy. I am writing to urge the Asian Development Bank to step up its role in tackling the climate crisis and in the revision of its energy policy to take three key steps:
- An end to all direct and indirect finance for fossil fuels. The new energy policy should explicitly end all Bank financing and support for all existing and new coal, oil, gas, and fossil fuel power generation projects.
- Scale-up funding to sustainable, renewable energy projects taking a people-centred approach that ensures a climate-safe and equitable future. The new policy should explicitly support solar and wind power community microgrids that can maximise energy access. This should exclude large greenfield hydro dams, waste-to-energy, and geothermal projects, which can cause extensive social and environmental harms.
- As the chair of the Multilateral Development Banks’ working group on Paris Alignment this year, the ADB must lead by example by demonstrating leadership as a forward-thinking climate bank. As stated in the Paris Agreement, becoming a true climate-friendly bank must include aligning all financing and activities to the 1.5°C goals.
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The Asian Development Bank must lead the Multilateral Development Banks’ working group on Paris Alignment by example.
We need you step up your role in tackling the climate crisis and in the revision of your energy policy.
You must immediately stop lending money to the coal, oil and gas projects and scale up funding for sustainable, renewable energy projects.
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About the campaign
Climate activists at the ADB Clean Energy Forum in 2018.
Photo: AC Dimatatac
The evidence is clear: the climate emergency is a real threat to the world as we know it. We are at a critical moment in this crisis, and actions taken now will impact people’s lives for many years to come. It is vital that public money is not used to further exacerbate this crisis but instead invest in clean solutions that benefit people, communities, and the environment.
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) continued support for fossil fuels undermines its mission to achieve a “prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific” and undercuts its commitment to climate action.
Many public banks are turning away from coal, gas and oil. The ADB should not get left behind, and the review of your energy policy is an opportune moment to show leadership and invest in a clean, green future. We arecalling on the Asian Development Bank to commit to end finance for all dirty fossil fuel projects and increase support for a just transition to clean energy that protects our planet and all people.
Police disperse climate justice advocates during the ADB’s 2018 Annual Governors Meeting. Photo: AC Dimatatac
Preventing runaway climate change requires an immediate end to fossil fuel finance, and public money must not be used to subsidise fossil fuels. Instead, it must be used to invest in sustainable, renewable energy that ensures everyone has access to clean energy. We urge the Asian Development Bank to step up its role in tackling the climate crisis and in the revision of its energy policy to take three key steps:
- An end to all direct and indirect finance for fossil fuels. The new energy policy should explicitly end all Bank financing and support for all existing and new coal, oil, gas, and fossil fuel power generation projects.
- Scale-up funding to sustainable, renewable energy projects taking a people-centred approach that ensures a climate-safe and equitable future. The new policy should explicitly support solar and wind power community microgrids that can maximise energy access. This should exclude large greenfield hydro dams, waste-to-energy, and geothermal projects, which can cause extensive social and environmental harms.
- As the chair of the Multilateral Development Banks’ working group on Paris Alignment this year, the ADB must lead by example by demonstrating leadership as a forward-thinking climate bank. As stated in the Paris Agreement, becoming a true climate-friendly bank must include aligning all financing and activities to the 1.5°C goals.
Additional resources
- Fossil Free ADB – A network of civil society organizations and people’s movements from Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia working to pressure the Asian Development Bank to end its financing and support for gas, coal and oil.
Protest at the ADB headquarters
in Manila. Photo: AC Dimatatac - NGO Forum on ADB – A network of civil society organizations that has been monitoring the projects, programs, and policies of the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
- “Leaving behind ADB’s Dirty Energy Legacy” – A critical review of the Bank’s energy policy and portfolio, urging the bank to take on its catalytic role in Asia’s energy transformation by formally imposing a coal ban as the first step towards full decarbonization. Published by the Center for Energy Ecology & Development and the NGO Forum on ADB.
- Asian Peoples Movement on Debt & Development – A regional alliance of peoples’ movements, community organizations, coalitions, NGOs, and networks that believes in social transformation that is all-encompassing and interrelated: it is economic, political, cultural and environmental and has class, ethnicity/race and gender dimensions.
The climate crisis sends us a clear warning: we can’t keep powering our lives with dirty fuels from the last century.
We can’t afford more gas, coal, and oil. Tell the Asian Development Bank’s leadership to invest in solutions, not more fossil fuels.
It’s time to power our communities with clean, renewable energy.
👇 Ways to increase the pressure 👇