Asian DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) CAMPAIGN
The ADB and its Significant Impact on Climate Change
The ADB is a multilateral development bank headquartered in the Philippines that funds projects in the Asia region. With Global North shareholders holding more than 50% of its voting power, it is funded and largely controlled by the wealthy countries of the world. The United States and Japan each hold over 12.75% of the voting share. In 2022, ADB’s total investment commitments reached a record USD 20.5 billion in loans, grants, equity investments, guarantees, and technical assistance, including USD 3.9 billion in financing to private companies. In 2022, it further mobilized an additional USD 11.4 billion in co-financing for its projects.
Many of the projects ADB finances, including those enabling fossil fuel energy infrastructure, result in significant GHG emissions. The GHG emissions from ADB’s investments and guarantees are consequential on their own. ADB’s influence on global warming also extends significantly beyond its own investments and its substantial mobilization of capital from other investors and lenders. This is because other financial institutions follow ADB’s lead on its climate policies, practices in policy implementation, and financing decisions.
Bank Climate Advocates' ADB Climate Change Work
2024 presents an important opportunity to secure the alignment of ADB’s financial flows with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming limitation objective. This is because ADB has released its draft policies applicable to climate change for public comment before anticipated adoption by the board later this year.
As such, Bank Climate Advocates (BCA) is applying our legal expertise and insights gained from our extensive analysis of IFC’s policies in our advocacy efforts to inform ADB Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) policy improvements. In November 2023, BCA presented during an online capacity building session for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), led and organized by Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific, to develop and coordinate on joint CSO positions on the climate change aspects ADB ESF. After months of extensive coordination and feedback from civil society, BCA then drafted and submitted climate change comments on the ESF on behalf of 17 CSOs.
To best ensure CSOs' requested climate change protections are included in the ESF ADB adopts, BCA plans to engage in advocacy efforts in coordination with its CSO partners. These efforts include participation in the April ADB ESF stakeholder consultation sessions, advocacy before ADB management and directors at and after the ADB’s annual board meeting, and further written and oral advocacy efforts with ADB management, directors, and key agencies that influence director decisions. On May 5, 2024 BCA submitted supplemental joint CSO comments on the climate change aspects of the ESF informed by 4 consultations and multiple meetings with ADB management and directors. After ADB addressed many of BCA's comments in the final draft ESF, and after a 5th consultation with ADB, BCA submitted a third set of comments from 11 CSOs on the climate change aspects of the final Draft ESF on October 22, 2024.
Click here for 17 CSOs' Climate Change Comments on ADB's ESF
Click here for CSOs' Supplemental Climate Comments on ADB's ESF
Click here for 11 CSOs Climate Comments on ADB's Final Draft ESF