Civil society organizations and affected communities accused the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of worsening Asia’s energy and climate crises through continued fossil fuel-linked financing, despite its commitments to clean energy and sustainable development.
The criticism came during a protest outside the 21st Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF 2026) in Mandaluyong City on June 10, where members of the NGO Forum on ADB and allied groups displayed a giant “Kraken of Destruction” symbolizing what they described as the bank’s role in perpetuating fossil fuel dependence and other harmful energy projects across the region.
“This ACEF, it’s time to name the monster. For more than sixty years, the ADB has trapped communities in a dirty legacy of destructive business across Asia,” said Elle Bartolome of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.
The protest coincided with ACEF 2026, which brings together governments, financiers, industry representatives, and development institutions to discuss energy transition and security in Asia.
Forum Network said the event is taking place amid rising energy prices, geopolitical tensions, and growing debt burdens in developing countries, yet ADB continues to support fossil fuel-related financing through mechanisms such as its Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program.
“The indirect impacts of the war in West Asia reveal how Asia, heavily dependent on fossil fuels, has struggled to battle with both volatile markets and the worsening effects of the climate crisis,” said Nazareth Del Pillar of NGO Forum on ADB. “This institution must stop packaging fossil fuel finance as a crisis response.”
The groups also criticized ADB’s 2025 Energy Policy Review, saying it keeps pathways open for oil and gas expansion while promoting what they described as false energy solutions.
“The ADB continues to undermine a just energy transition in Asia by keeping pathways open for continued oil and gas expansion, preserving coal loopholes, and promoting false energy solutions,” said Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development.
The coalition called on ADB to end direct and indirect fossil fuel financing and prioritize publicly funded, community-led renewable energy systems.
