Climate activists said that Japan and ADB’s continued financing of fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly fossil gas, under the banner of “transition” or “bridge” fuels falls short of what the climate crisis demands.

ALBAY – As a top Asian Development Bank (ADB) shareholder and key player in fossil (natural) gas, Japan faces mounting pressure from climate and clean energy advocates to lead a true energy transition in Asia.

“Fossil gas has no place in a real energy transition. It’s time that the Japanese government leads the ADB to invest in community-led renewable energy instead,” 350.org Japan campaigner Masayoshi Iyoda said in a statement.

According to Iyoda, Japan plays a major role in shaping Asia’s climate future through its ADB investments in clean energy, which he emphasized should focus solely on renewable energy, not fossil fuels, especially fossil gas, which is heavily backed by Japanese corporations.

Iyoda’s counterpart in the Philippines Fread De Mesa added that Japan’s continued investment in fossil gas as a “transition” fuel fails to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. 

“While the ADB has made climate commitments and supports some clean energy initiatives, its continued financing of fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly fossil gas, under the banner of “transition” or “bridge” fuels falls short of what the climate crisis demands…”

De Mesa noted that, meanwhile, smaller, community-led renewable energy solutions that build true climate resilience are often overlooked and underfunded.

Heavier debt burden, other impacts of Japan’s projects

Fossil gas such as liquified natural gas is one of the four main focuses of Japan’s Asia Zero Emission Community, which its energy ministry defines as a “platform for cooperation towards carbon neutrality/net-zero emissions in the Asia region.” 

Launched by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2023, AZEC has become central to Japan’s regional energy and climate leadership, according to Energy Tracker Asia’s November 2024 report. With Japan’s influence over regional energy policy, AZEC-backed technologies— biomass, carbon capture sequestration, hydrogen, ammonia co-firing, and LNG— are increasingly integrated into national net-zero and decarbonization plans of its 11 member-countries including the Philippines, and Indonesia having the most AZEC projects, the report added. 

Advocates argue that imported LNG is no different from imported coal, as its volatile costs are passed on to consumers, while its methane emissions intensify atmospheric heating. Additionally, LNG expansion increases debt for developing countries, displaces communities and livelihoods, and threatens critical marine ecosystems like Isla Verde Passage, given that most LNG terminals and gas-fired power plants in the Philippines are concentrated in Batangas.

The report cautioned that locking in fossil gas for thermal power would hinder solar and wind expansion in developing countries. It pointed to Bangladesh (though not an AZEC member) as an example of Japan’s heavy influence on energy policy, noting that in 2010 JICA’s power system master plan prioritized coal and LNG, leaving Bangladesh vulnerable during the 2022 global energy crisis. In 2023, one-third of power plants went offline in over 100 days.

Amanullah Porag, a South Asian colleague of Iyoda and De Mesa, described Bangladesh’s energy crisis as a nightmare, marked by costly, dirty electricity. Porag stressed that ADB’s heavy investments in fossil gas have deepened the country’s debt burden and trapped it in unaffordable gas imports.

“The ADB can still help us out of this worsening energy and climate crisis by being accountable, completely ending fossil fuels, and realigning finance towards community-led renewable energy grants,” Porag said.

These calls were reiterated during ADB’s annual Asia Clean Energy Forum, held on June 2-6 at its headquarters in the Philippines. The event brought together government leaders, the private sector, and stakeholders from across Asia to promote clean energy solutions.

According to 350.org, civil society has long criticized AZEF for prioritizing corporate-led decarbonization over frontline communities and grassroots solutions. “Anything less makes the ADB complicit in deepening the very crisis it claims to solve,” ally NGO Forum on ADB said in another statement. (RVO)