Take Action: Tell the Asian Development Bank to go fossil free

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 to 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 make a commitment to end finance for all dirty fossil fuel projects and to 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 it is vital that public money is no longer used to subsidise fossil fuels. It must be used instead 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 and other related infrastructures—including but not limited to (i) coal mined for captive use of a power plant, (ii) projects considered energy efficient, adopting a carbon capture storage, other mitigating measures, and (iii) projects using co/tri-generation technology.

• Scale up funding to sustainable, renewable energy projects taking a people-centred approach that ensures a climate safe and equitable future. All energy projects funded by the ADB must help lift more people out of energy poverty and contribute to a just transition. 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.

• Demonstrate leadership as a forward-thinking climate bank. Becoming a true climate bank must include aligning all financing and activities — including private sector financing and investing through financial intermediaries — with a high probability 1.5°C emissions pathway and ensuring meaningful consultation with impacted communities. Furthermore, instead of exacerbating debt burdens of member countries the ADB should provide assistance by converting the outstanding balance of ADB loans to coal projects into grants for renewable energy. As the chair of the Multilateral Development Banks’ working group on Paris Alignment this year the ADB must lead by example.

Yours sincerely,