Civil Society Organizations Demand an Immediate Policy Overhaul to Align ADB with Climate Justice and Human Rights
Milan, Italy – At the 58th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a united front of civil society organizations from across Asia and the Pacific, led by the NGO Forum on ADB, is raising the alarm over the Bank’s continued support for harmful development. The Forum Network—together with grassroots communities, labor movements, indigenous rights defenders, gender justice advocates, and environmental campaigners—is demanding that ADB end its legacy of destruction and embrace a bold new direction.
Despite its climate rhetoric, ADB continues to invest in fossil fuels, fund projects that displace communities, and undermine fundamental rights. The Forum Network and its allies are calling on newly appointed ADB President Masato Kanda, along with the Bank’s Board and senior management, to ensure genuine accountability and systemic reform. They urge the institution to abandon false climate solutions and redirect public finance toward people and the planet.
“While we recognize that ADB’s current safeguard policy is strong, the Bank is very weak in monitoring the implementation of Environmental Management Plans on the ground, which leads to serious social and environmental issues for local communities,” said Hemantha Withanage, international convenor of the NGO Forum on ADB.
“Though the ADB-funded Upper Elahera Canal project in Sri Lanka was designed to transfer 974 MCM, only 223 MCM is currently available to meet the needs of the North Central Province—making it a white elephant,” he added.
ADB has spent $4.7 billion on gas financing since the adoption of the Paris Agreement—while simultaneously pledging to fund renewable energy and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This double standard reveals the Bank’s contradictory approach to energy investment in the region, Withanage emphasized.
A Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Now
The Forum Network’s first demand is a complete, time-bound phase-out of all fossil fuel financing—including fossil gas. While the ADB’s 2021 Energy Policy excluded new coal power generation, it continues to finance gas infrastructure, including pipelines, LNG terminals, and gas-fired plants. This locks the region into decades of carbon-intensive energy and undermines the Paris Agreement.
The Bank’s Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), promoted as a climate solution, has been criticized for enabling corporate bailouts and delaying real transitions through retrofitting coal plants with co-firing technologies. Recurring issues—such as opaque project selection—have emerged in Cirebon I (Indonesia), the Philippines, and Kazakhstan. ADB continues to support coal operators like Marubeni Corp, KEPCO, PT Indika Energy Tbk, ST International Co Ltd. (Indonesia); Aboitiz Power (Philippines); and Kazakhmys Energy LLP and Astana Energy JSC (Kazakhstan). Instead of retiring plants, ADB is steering projects toward co-firing and gas switching, with no plans for reparations or just transitions for affected communities.
As ADB prepares to review its Energy Policy in 2025, the Forum calls on the Bank to explicitly ban fossil fuel investments—upstream, midstream, and downstream—and to prioritize socially just, community-driven renewable energy.
Enforcing Safeguards that Deliver
The Forum Network also calls out ADB’s new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) for failing to mandate binding environmental and social impact assessments (EIA/SIA) before project approvals. In high-risk sectors like energy and infrastructure, this gap allows projects to bypass safeguards, leaving vulnerable communities and ecosystems exposed to harm.
“The 1995 Safeguard Policy Statement failed to protect people—especially women—and the environment,” said Titi Soentoro of Aksi! for Gender, Social, and Ecological Justice.
“In Indonesia, ADB-financed geothermal projects have led to land and water grabs, pollution, and the loss of livelihoods for women and their communities.”
She stressed, “The new ESF must go beyond promises and ensure real implementation—especially on gender. ADB’s 2021 Energy Policy continues to promote geothermal despite strong demands to exclude it. In volcanic countries like Indonesia, this puts communities at serious risk, repeating the same failures.”
Accountability that Works, Not One that Fails Communities
Finally, the Forum Network demands a complete overhaul of the ADB’s Accountability Mechanism, which communities say has consistently failed them. From burdensome eligibility criteria to opaque processes and unenforceable remedies, the current mechanism is inaccessible and ineffective.
The ongoing review is a critical opportunity for ADB to build a justice-driven system. The Forum demands –
The removal of restrictive conditions like the “Good Faith Effort” clause
A zero-tolerance policy on reprisals
Full public disclosure of all documents under review
“Financing fossil fuels, especially gas and related infrastructure in 2025, is a betrayal of our collective future. It’s time for the ADB to shut the door on fossil fuels, lock in pre-project safeguards, and open the gates to true justice for every community affected,” said Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director of the NGO Forum on ADB.
The Forum emphasizes that the mechanism must also cover financial intermediaries and co-financiers—frequent escape routes for accountability. It must fully uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. A clear “no” must be treated as final—not the start of negotiations.
As ADB enters a new chapter under President Kanda and launches multiple policy reviews, civil society insists that half-measures will not suffice. Without a fossil fuel phase-out, binding safeguards, and a truly independent and reparative accountability system, ADB risks deepening harm and injustice.
The Bank stands at a crossroads: it must choose between enabling destruction or leading a transformative, rights-based future for development in Asia and the Pacific.
For inquiries, interviews, or more information, contact:
Dennis Paule | +63 945 674 1746 | dennis@forum-adb.org
Jen Derillo (on-site) | +63 917 508 8841 | jen@forum-adb.org
