Mr. Jin Liqun
President
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Beijing, China
Cc: Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President Policy and Strategy
Mr. Ludger Schuknecht, Vice President and Corporate Secretary
Members of the Board of Directors of the AIIB
--Via Email--
Re: Follow Up Correspondence Concerning the 2022 Energy Sector Strategy Update
Dear President Liqun,
We are collectively writing to follow up on the civil society letter sent to you on 23rd September 2021 (“Key issues regarding the AIIB Annual Meeting 2021”). Nearly four months have lapsed since the letter was received by your office, and still we are yet to hear any substantive response to the range of questions raised.
Going forward into 2022, we would like to specifically reiterate our request for clarification on the expected timeline and process related to the update of the Energy Sector Strategy this year, which we duly note was discussed during the last year’s meeting of the Board of Directors, Dec. 14-16, 2021.
With all due respect, we are requesting the AIIB management team confirm when we – as civil society groups and project affected communities – can expect:
Public disclosure of any existing approach paper guiding how the overall Energy Sector Strategy update process is being undertaken
Public disclosure of additional guiding documents for the update, such as a CEIU review of the energy sector portfolio financed to date
Public disclosure of the overarching timelines for the update on the AIIB website (including identification of allocated times for public comment and input)
Clarification on whether the 1st (and any subsequent) drafts of the policy update will be made public and open to comment, with accompanying expected timelines
Clarification on whether the management is open and willing to engage in country level discussions, regional consultations adjusted to timezones, or sector specific dialogues with concerned civil society organizations
Clarification if there will be any point during the review process when public comments will be collated with responses and posted online (for reference, see: the ADB Energy Policy Review: Summary of Comments from Stakeholders, published during their energy policy review in June 2021)
Clarification on whether any updated Energy Sector Strategy will apply to non-regional borrowing members, and if so, whether the current Strategy on Financing Operations in Non-Regional Members will be revised to reflect the changes incorporated in any updates (for ex. in relation to Paris Alignment)
Whether drafts and any public online consultations will take into account translation into the major languages of regional borrowing countries (e.g. Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala, Tamil, Thai, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, etc.) and also those outside the region (Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic)
We hope and trust that given the timeliness of these concerns[1], you will duly respond with the requested clarifications as soon as possible. Thank you.
Sincerely,
NGO Forum on ADB
Aksi! for gender, social and ecological justice, Indonesia
Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Asia
Bank Information Center, USA
BWGED (Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt), Bangladesh
CEE Bankwatch Network, Czech Republic
Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, Philippines
Centre for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka
Centre for Financial Accountability, India
CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Bangladesh
Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR), Peru
Grupo Regional Sobre Financiamiento e Infraestructura, Argentina/Colombia/Peru
Equitable Cambodia, Cambodia
Friends of the Earth US, US
Green Advocates International, Liberia
Growthwatch, India
Healthy Public Policy Foundation, Thailand
Inclusive Development International, United States
Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), India
Initiative for Right View(IRV), Bangladesh
International Accountability Project, Global
International Rivers, USD
Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Japan
Koalisyon sa Karapatan sa Sapat na Pagkain (National Food Coalition), Philippines
Latinoamérica Sustentable, Ecuador
Lumière Synergie pour le Développement, Sénégal
Nash Vek, Kyrgyzstan
Oil Change International, United States
Oil Workers' Rights Protection Organization Public Union, Azerbaijan
Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan
Peoples Development Institute, Philippines
Protección Internacional Mesoamérica, Guatemala
Recourse, Netherlands
Rivers without Boundaries Coalition, Mongolia
Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition, Russia
Sustentarse, Chile
Urgewald, Germany
WomanHealth Philippines, Philippines
Youth Group on Protection of Environment, Tajikistan
[1] In this regard, we also refer you to a briefing outlining some key recommendations for updating the Energy Sector Strategy which was published by civil society groups in November 2021: “Ten Essentials For AIIB’s New Energy Strategy”.
Download PDF version here.
Read AIIB's response here.