Civil society group slams ADB’s legacy of dirty energy and false solutions at ACEF’s 20th Year

MANILA, May 28, 2025 – As the Asian Development Bank (ADB) celebrates 20 years of the Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF), civil society organizations are calling out what they describe as two decades of greenwashing, empty promises, and dangerous backsliding on fossil fuels.

Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director of the NGO Forum on ADB, criticized the bank’s ongoing support for harmful energy projects, calling for a genuine shift toward people-centered, sustainable solutions. “In an unstable world, a multilateral development bank like the ADB has a responsibility to offer solutions rooted in partnership and sustainability — especially in the energy sector,” Hassan said. “But instead of transitioning Asia toward a just renewable energy system, the ADB continues to create markets for fossil gas, large hydro, incinerators, and even some geothermal plants that carry destructive impacts.”

Hassan emphasized the urgent need for the bank to move away from these so-called "big-ticket" projects. He warned that the ADB's openness to ventures like critical minerals mining and nuclear power only adds to the risks. “Both have proven unpredictable and come with grave consequences,” he said. “The bank should not gamble with people’s lives and the environment in pursuit of profit.” He concluded with a call for accountability and responsible decision-making: “We hope reason prevails in this ACEF.”

In a strongly worded statement, Forum network and allies condemned ACEF for becoming a platform that legitimizes polluters and false climate solutions. They argue that behind the buzzwords of ‘energy transition’ and ‘low-carbon innovation,’ ACEF has enabled fossil fuel interests and corporate actors to continue business-as-usual operations, fueling the climate crisis while claiming to solve it.

Groups pointed to the prominent roles of the Korean Energy Agency as its co-host. In particular, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)— a state-owned energy corporation with one of the largest coal fleets globally and the operator of the controversial Naga coal plant financed by the ADB in the Philippines. Their presence at ACEF, they say, is a clear signal that the ADB is not serious about a real clean energy shift.

“This only proves that ADB has no credibility in the clean energy agenda. The presence of big climate polluters like KEPCO exposes how just transition is syndicated by the very actors driving the crisis. This is not only a setback to 100% renewable energy but also a step back from accountability. ACEF cannot absolve ADB and KEPCO’s history of harm in the Philippines, where justice remains denied. This business-as-usual must end. In a period of climate emergency, we are racing against time. We must reject these detours, distractions, and dangers — and demand a real, just transition for the people and the planet,” emphasized Ellenor Bartolome, Senior Executive Officer for Policy, Campaigns, and Communications of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice. 

Criticism was particularly sharp around the ADB’s much-touted Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM), which civil society warns is being used to funnel public funds to coal companies rather than shut down dirty power. Instead of retiring coal responsibly, ETM is bailing out polluters under the guise of climate action.

Concerns were also raised about the inclusion of Standard Chartered and OceanaGold in ACEF discussions. Both have been linked to environmental destruction and human rights violations in the Philippines and beyond. Civil society groups pointed to cases of forced evictions, community displacement, and violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, calling their participation in ACEF an affront to justice and accountability.

Maya Quirino, Associate Executive Director and Advocacy Coordinator of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, expressed strong concern over the ADB’s inclusion of "climate-smart mining" in its climate financing portfolio.

According to Quirino, the label is misleading and ignores the real environmental and social costs borne by communities. She pointed to the experience of indigenous peoples in Nueva Vizcaya affected by the OceanaGold mining project, describing it as a clear example of how mining operations can lead to significant harm. “Mining comes with a hefty environmental and social price tag,” she said, urging the ADB to reconsider its support for transition mining as part of its climate agenda.

Quirino warned that countries in the Global South, like the Philippines, should not be pressured to open up their lands without conditions in the name of energy transition. “It would be the supreme irony if, in trying to address the climate crisis, the world escalates mining — an industry long linked to environmental degradation and human rights violations,” she added.

The Forum’s statement also denounced ADB’s continued funding of fossil gas pipelines, mega-geothermal projects, and waste-to-energy incinerators—initiatives that they argue deepen debt, harm frontline communities, and delay the real energy transition urgently needed across Asia.

With ADB’s Energy Policy Review now underway, civil society organizations are demanding that this process become a genuine turning point. They call the review a litmus test of the Bank’s political will to move beyond fossil fuel dependency and commit to real, community-driven climate action.

The statement outlines six core demands

1. Transparent Review Process – Ensure full access to draft policies and meaningful participation from affected communities.

2. Uphold Climate Imperatives – Uphold the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement and abandon the flawed ‘Paris Alignment’ framework that allows continued fossil fuel investments to slip through.

3. Close ETM Loopholes – Exclude coal proponents, demand reparations, and ensure justice for affected communities.

4. Phase Out Fossil Gas – Commit to a time-bound and strategic exit from all gas infrastructure projects.

5. Reject False Solutions – End support for mega-geothermal, incinerators, CCS, and other unproven technologies.

6. Reject Extractivism & Nuclear Energy – Halt mining-linked energy initiatives and firmly exclude nuclear power.

NGO Forum on ADB and its allies reiterated their call for a just energy transition that prioritizes decentralized, community-owned, and regenerative energy systems. They emphasized that the ADB must shift its financing to support climate justice, equity, and accountability. Anything less makes the ADB complicit in deepening the very crisis it claims to solve.