Civil society organizations (CSOs) across Asia are warning that the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) fast-tracked review of its 2021 Energy Policy could weaken climate action and exclude affected communities.
NGO Forum on ADB, a network of over 250 movements and NGOs, called on the Bank to suspend the “rushed timeline” and conduct “inclusive, transparent consultations—particularly with those most affected by its destructive projects.”
The review is set to conclude in just three months, a timeframe CSOs say is “deeply inadequate” for a policy that will shape ADB’s energy strategy for the next decade.
“Rushing the Energy Policy review in the middle of a worsening climate crisis is reckless and unacceptable,” said Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director of NGO Forum on ADB.
He warned that the process sidelines the very communities most affected by ADB’s projects and stressed that a credible policy requires transparency, participation, and a decisive shift from fossil fuels.
The call comes as Asia reels from intensifying climate disasters. Tropical Storm Wipha displaced 90,000 people in the Philippines, while in Vietnam, massive flooding prompted the deployment of 350,000 soldiers.
In South Asia, Pakistan has seen over 240 deaths from glacial melt and monsoon rains, while extreme heat in India and Pakistan has killed hundreds.
CSOs accused ADB of supporting fossil gas infrastructure, mega-dams, and mineral-intensive “green” technologies that displace communities and deepen debt.
“The ADB Energy Policy is shifting to support more extractive projects… undermining Paris alignment,” said Jaybee Garganera of Alyansa Tigil Mina.
Nazareth Del Pilar of NGO Forum on ADB warned that proposals to lift the ban on nuclear projects and back coal co-firing “derail climate commitments and deepen complicity with major climate polluters.”
CSOs demand ADB halt the review, release draft policies, and ensure meaningful consultation, warning that “anything less is a clear abandonment of accountability and justice.”
