Letter on ADB’s flawed July 22 CSO consultation

NGO Forum on ADB
Jul 24
3 min read

July 24, 2025

MR. MASATO KANDA

President

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Dear President Kanda,

This urgent correspondence comes amid the ongoing ADB Energy Policy Review. As you are aware, 22 July was scheduled for an online consultation with civil society at 8 PM Manila time. NGO Forum on ADB members and allies participated in the call, expecting to provide their inputs and comments on this very critical energy policy review discussion.

The online format, conducted as a webinar, significantly limited opportunities for meaningful interaction between civil society organizations (CSOs) and ADB Management. Unlike a meeting setup, the webinar did not permit participants to use their microphones or cameras, eliminating any real sense of engagement or dialogue. CSO representatives were unable to see who else was present, leaving many feeling isolated and disconnected. If the purpose of the session was merely to brief participants, this format may have sufficed. However, since the event was communicated to CSOs as a consultation, the chosen format was inadequate and counterproductive. It failed to support open exchange, excluded two-way engagement, and ultimately undermined the intent of a genuine consultative process.

Additionally, numerous participants encountered access issues due to the registration process. Although they had pre-registered, clicking the Zoom link prompted them to register again, which caused confusion. Several attendees reported being unable to join the meeting due to invalid meeting codes or passwords, effectively excluding them from the consultation. These technical and format-related issues consumed much of the scheduled time, leaving only about 30 minutes for actual discussions, which severely hampered the quality and depth of engagement.

Moreover, we express serious concern over the Energy Sector Office’s continued failure to respond to our important query regarding the concrete and comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan. To date, there has been no clarity on how the consultations will proceed, leaving stakeholders uncertain and excluded from meaningful participation. On top of this, there is an inconsistent and deliberate interchange of terms, shifting from ‘consultation' to 'CSO briefing', which raises questions about the transparency and intent of the process. This lack of clarity undermines our confidence in whether civil society's concerns and recommendations are being genuinely considered or meaningfully integrated into the review process.

Compounding these challenges, a typhoon was actively affecting the Philippines and several other parts of Asia on the day of the consultation. Despite the extreme weather conditions—causing power outages, unstable internet, and safety concerns—the consultation still pushed through. This further underscored the lack of flexibility and sensitivity to the realities faced by participants on the ground, many of whom were directly affected by the storm but remained committed to engaging in the review process.

We received apologies from the ADB Energy team regarding the challenges in the consultation process, but we were also informed that 8 August is the deadline for submitting comments.

We urge you to consider extending the submission deadline to the maximum extent possible, considering that our inputs in the online consultation were not registered in a meaningful way.

We are aware of the Board calendar on your side and feel this review process is very rushed. As the energy policy review will address lifting the nuclear ban, expanding the scope of the ETM, and introducing new climate-risking technologies, we hope for your urgent consideration in this regard to extend the review timeline.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

On behalf of NGO Forum on ADB network and allies,

Rayyan Hassan

Executive Director

NGO Forum on ADB

Signed by the following organizations -

Aksi! for gender, social, and ecological justice (Aksi!), Indonesia

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippines

Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Regional

Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), Bangladesh

CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Bangladesh

Eco-Coalition Armenia, Armenia

Forum on Ecology and Development (FED), Bangladesh

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Asia-Pacific

Growthwatch, India

Indus Consortium, Pakistan

International Rivers, International

Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), Philippines

Nash Vek, Kyrgyz Republic

Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Philippines

Recourse, The Netherlands

Cc:

Board of Directors

Mr. Priyantha Wijayatunga, Senior Director, Energy Sector Office

Mr. David J. Morgado, Senior Energy Specialist, ADB Energy Sector