openPR Logo
Press release

ADB should end fossil fuel financing

06-18-2020 10:41 AM CET | Energy & Environment

Press release from: NGO Forum on ADB

NGO Forum on ADB, a network of over 250 civil society organizations across Asia calls out the Asian Development Bank to end its green posturing and make real commitments towards a Paris aligned policy and appropriate clean energy investments. This demand coincides with this year's Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) 2020 which started yesterday, June 16.

This year ACEF’s thematic focus is centered upon building an inclusive, resilient sustainable energy future, recovering and rebounding from the social and economic crisis of the pandemic. Yet, the stark reality is that the ADB's policies and practices effectively fail to reflect such a vision, undermining rather than upholding the just, appropriately scaled, and participatory energy transition urgently needed by these times.

Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director of NGO Forum on ADB states that the “ADB Energy Policy 2009 is draconian and outdated and heavily embedded in coal and fossil fuels. The old policy is a complete contradiction to the Paris Agreement! A new ADB Paris 1.5 degree aligned Energy Policy is urgently needed to support Asia's renewable energy pathway to reach its NDC targets.”

ADB’s carbon-intensive energy portfolio is rooted in the fact that its “clean” energy agenda is a grave misnomer.

“There is no such thing like "clean coal"- coal still stays the dirtiest energy resource. Even the newly announced Chinese Green Bonds will exclude so-called "Clean Coal" projects from their portfolio. ADB should not stay behind” says Nora Sausmikat of Urgewald, a Germany based NGO.

Although climate change is considered as a key issue in the ADB Energy Policy of 2009, the Bank itself admits that not all of its clean energy investments are considered climate investments. Without strict criteria for “clean” energy and a firm exclusion for the financing of coal projects, the 2009 Energy Policy has enabled the Bank to make dirty commitments, providing a crutch for the next generation of advanced coal and gas power plants.

Gerry Arrances of Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) Philippines explained that “ADB must pursue and promote a 1.5°C Pathway—reaching a global CO2 emissions decline of 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and net-zero CO2 emissions by mid-century—without false solutions”.

Hemantha Withanage from Center for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka said that “ADB has spent over USD 5 billion for dirty coal power plants and it has a historical responsibility for climate-induced migration. It is expected that over 200 million will become climate refugees by 2050 and ADB should make its energy policies to reverse this situation”.

And it is also undeniable that the COVID 19 pandemic impacts the climate crisis. According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report in 2017 on climate risk in Asia, it was estimated that global flood losses are expected to increase to $52 billion per year by 2050 from $6 billion in 2005. The ADB report also identified that food shortage due to climate impacts could increase the number of malnourished children in South Asia by 7 million.

According to Sreedhar Ramamurthi, from Environics Trust, India “the ADB (as with most of the MDBs) seems to be desperate to make use of the crisis and enhance its opportunities to lend. The ADB must realize that bigger loans for the same kind of destructive mega infrastructure projects cannot help the people nor the economy. In the case of India, the ADB in its tick-box mentality, claim that the emergency COVID19 fast track loans are in tune with the country strategy! I will caution the bank and appeal to the ADB Board to ensure safeguards are not compromised in the name of an emergency or ‘unprecedented" situation’”.

The greenwashing approach of ADB in the climate policy space is now apparent. ADB’s climate responsibility is not in its statements in various global platforms but rather revealed through its energy sector investments. The ADB has heavily invested in fossil gas and related infrastructure in the last 3 years across Asia and is now facing the reality of stalled construction and rising environmental & social costs. There is also the issue of lack of meaningful consultations with local communities on project planning, and lack of pre-project information disclosure; two critical issues which have led to a disconnect from real sustainable development outcomes. It needs to be noted based on our assessment from 2010-2020 clean energy infrastructure in public health is an immediate need, which has seen nothing but neglect for a decade from the ADB.

Vidya Dinker of India based Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) explained that "ADB has spent over 40 million USD in strengthening capacities in India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, etc., yet not a single Country Safeguard Systems (CSS) is optimal for Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) delivery. We hope the ADB will continue to take responsibility for delivering its own SPS until CSS achieve equivalency as articulated in the SPS 2009."

The future of ADB Energy investments is in renewable energy and community microgrids and it has no space for fossil fuels especially coal. The ADB should take a deep look at its lending portfolio in the energy sector and makes an immediate shift towards renewable energy pathways for a Paris Aligned COVID19 recovery. Data suggests renewable energy will create more jobs and is cheaper to produce. Long-term investments in the sector are needed to ensure sustainable energy access for the most vulnerable. The age of fossil fuel baseload power generation has come to an end and ADB must take action in these last 10 years towards the 2030 IPCC P1 pathway.

85-A Masikap Extension, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Email jen@forum-adb.org

The NGO Forum on ADB is a network of civil society organizations (CSOs) that has been monitoring the projects, programs, and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

This release was published on openPR.

Permanent link to this press release:

Copy
Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release.

You can edit or delete your press release ADB should end fossil fuel financing here

News-ID: 2076348 • Views:

More Releases from NGO Forum on ADB

Groups hit ADB for ‘coal legacy’ and continued fossil fuel investments
Energy and climate advocates hit the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its doublespeak on clean energy, as the Bank hosts the Asian Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) with USAID and the Korean Energy Agency (KEA) in its Manila Headquarters. “Despite its professed commitment to ‘clean energy’, ADB’s energy legacy remains to be its funding of fossil fuels, especially coal,” said Gerry Arances, Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development
Asian Development Bank (ADB) should have explicit binding requirements for its S …
Last May 1-5 the 52nd Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors took place in Nadi, Fiji, and as the bank claims that it has been a successful event, NGO Forum on ADB questions the portrayal of the Bank as an institution committed to addressing poverty alleviation in the Asia and the Pacific. This is after the percentage of projects with environmental-safeguard-related risk grew from

More Releases for Asia

South East Asia Business Jet Market And Top Key Players are Asia Corporate Jet, …
By 2022, the South East Asia Business Jet Markets estimated to reach US$ XX Mn, up from US$ XX Mn in 2016, growing at a CAGR of XX% during the forecast period. The Global Business Jet Market, currently at 21 million USD, contributes the highest share in the market and is poised to grow at the fastest rate in the future. The three broad categories of business jets are Small,
RAMPF Korea – Producing in Asia for Asia
Joint Venture for the Asian markets – The international RAMPF Group has realigned the cooperation with its long-standing partner Orient Dosiertechnik from Korea with the founding of RAMPF Korea Co., Ltd. The new company based in Hwaseong City is developing and producing mixing and dispensing systems specifically for the Asian markets. Within the framework of the new joint venture based in Hwaseong City, mixing and dispensing systems are being developed and
LIXIL Asia Presents Asia Pacific Property Awards
Through its power brands GROHE and American Standard, LIXIL Asia signs a three-year deal to become the Headline Sponsor of the Asia Pacific Property Awards from 2019 until 2022. 23rd January 2019: The International Property Awards, first established in 1993, are open to residential and commercial property professionals from around the globe. They celebrate the highest levels of achievement by companies operating within the architecture, interior design, real estate and property
PEOPLEWAVE WINS ASIA TECH PODCAST PITCHDECK ASIA 2019 AWARDS
15 January 2019, Singapore – Peoplewave, Asia’s leading data-driven HR technology company, won the Asia Tech Podcast (ATP) Pitchdeck Asia 2019 Awards, being awarded “Startup Most Likely to Succeed in 2019". The 2019 Pitchdeck Asia Awards is an opportunity for the Asian Startup Ecosystem to shine a spotlight on some of its best startups. The awards were decided by a public vote. More than 7,200 votes were cast by registered LinkedIn
Undersea Defence Technology Asia, UDT Asia 2011
Latest Military Diving Technologies featured in UDT Asia Equipping Asia’s navies with the latest diving technology for asymmetric warfare and operations SINGAPORE, 17 October 2011 - Naval diving and underwater special operations is a field that is seeing increased attention and investment amongst navies in Asia. Units such as the Indonesian Navy‟s KOPASKA, the Republic of Singapore Navy‟s Naval Diving Unit (NDU), the Royal Malaysian Navy‟s PASKAL are increasingly utilising specialised equipment for conducting
Asia Diligence – Specialist Investigative Due Diligence for Asia & Beyond
Asia Diligence today announced the opening of its European Customer Services office in the United Kingdom. The office is to be managed by Steve Fowler and will focus on providing services to Asia Diligence’s European customers. Asia Diligence is also planning to open a US office in the near future, which will provide customer service to its US and North American clients. Asked to comment on the move, Luke Palmer, the