Chuck Baclagon is the Asia regional finance campaigner for 350.org.
Our continent is on fire. Not figuratively – literally. From record-breaking heatwaves across Central Asia to parched lands and collapsing harvests in Southeast and South Asia, the climate crisis is not some distant threat. It’s already here, carving deep scars across our communities. And if we’re honest, it’s not a disaster of nature – it’s a disaster of decisions.
That’s why this year’s Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual General Meeting – taking place in Milan this week – matters. As the region’s second-biggest source of development finance, the ADB holds enormous sway over how Asia and the Pacific will transition away from fossil fuels – or whether they will at all.
To its credit, the ADB has formally excluded direct investments in coal – a long-overdue response to years of sustained pressure from communities and advocates. But in practice, this shift amounts to a half-measure that leaves the door open to continued fossil fuel dependency.
While the ADB distances itself from coal, it quietly endorses fossil gas as a transitional fuel, with its current energy policy allowing for gas financing under certain conditions. From 2016 to 2020, over 96% of the bank’s fossil fuel financing – amounting to $4.7 billion – went to gas projects. Independent monitoring services like Energy Policy Tracker confirm ongoing support for oil and gas.
Swapping coal for gas
This shift isn’t abstract – it’s unfolding in real places, with real consequences. In the Philippines, the ADB’s Energy Transition Mechanism may be retiring coal plants, but it has done nothing to stop the surge of LNG terminals and gas-fired power stations threatening the fragile Verde Island Passage. Entire coastal communities now face displacement and destruction of their livelihoods.
In Bangladesh, cancelled coal projects are simply being replaced by gas infrastructure on Maheshkhali Island, uprooting islanders and deepening the country’s debt burden. In Indonesia, the bank boasts of early coal retirement, while backing fossil gas expansion. Projects like the Tangguh LNG development in Papua violate Indigenous lands and endanger ecosystems.
At energy security talks, US pushes gas and derides renewables
This is not a transition. Rather, cloaking fossil gas in deceptive language like “transition” or “bridge” fuel is clever word-play to justify continued harm. You don’t build a bridge to a burning house. Fossil gas is mostly methane – a greenhouse gas that traps more than 80 times the heat of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Investing in gas today locks countries into climate chaos tomorrow.
The science is unequivocal. To keep global warming below 1.5°C, global carbon emissions must fall by 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. That means coal, oil and gas must stay in the ground: with no exceptions, no new excuses. But a real energy transition is not just about meeting Paris Agreement targets. It’s about changing development pathways so that our communities can thrive, not merely endure, in a world shaped by climate change.
Invest in decentralised renewables
The ADB has a critical role to play. Its investments can either entrench fossil fuel dependence – or help communities build truly just and low-carbon energy systems. To do that, the ADB must stop backing ‘false’ solutions – not just fossil gas, but also mega-dams, nuclear power, and waste-to-energy incinerators that do more harm than good, especially to communities exposed to their risks. It should instead invest in decentralised, renewable, and community-led energy: solar microgrids, wind cooperatives, battery storage, and local infrastructure that puts power into the hands of the people.
Trump’s first 100 days: US walks away from global climate action
For this, transparency is key. The ADB must adopt open, accountable investment frameworks that disclose where its money is going, who it’s benefiting, and what social and ecological costs come with it. People have the right to know how their futures are being financed, and whether those futures are being sacrificed for someone else’s return on investment.
It’s also time to stop asking frontline communities to take on more debt for a crisis they didn’t cause. When financing adaptation, energy access, and loss and damage in the most climate-vulnerable places, the ADB must shift from loans to grants. Anything less is a continuation of climate injustice.
Community ownership is key
We need to rethink how the energy transition in Asia is being shaped and led. Communities are not simply “stakeholders” but key decision-makers with the insight and agency to guide solutions that work for them. Strong community ownership isn’t a bonus feature of a successful transition; it’s the foundation.
This May, the ADB has a choice: continue propping up fossil fuels under the guise of a ‘transition’ – or start investing in the real work of transformation. The clock may be running down, but we still have choices that can reshape the arc of what comes next.
The future is not something that just happens to us: it’s something we build, piece by piece, decision by decision. At this crossroads, the ADB has a chance to listen – to the science, to the communities, to the moment – and choose a path that leads not just away from crisis, but toward possibility.
The post Asia’s fossil-free future demands real transformation – not a false transition appeared first on Climate Home News.
Asia’s fossil-free future demands real transformation – not a false transition
Climate Change
Bowen urged to lead with vision and ambition to accelerate fossil fuel phase out at Bonn climate meeting, as global energy crisis bites
Bonn, Germany, Monday 8 June 2026 — As the UN climate negotiations in Bonn commence, Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen to lead with vision and ambition to advance multilateral climate cooperation, and use his unique position to drive concrete progress at COP31 and ensure a meaningful partnership with the Pacific.
In the context of a global energy crisis and turbulent geopolitics, the Bonn Climate Change Conference will be a critical moment to sustain emerging political momentum towards a just transition away from fossil fuels. The midway point on the road to COP31 in Türkiye in November, Bonn will be the first time Minister Bowen has attended a major UN conference in his role as COP31 President of Negotiations.
The start of the Bonn meetings also marks 100 days since the illegal US-Israel war on Iran sparked a global energy shock and after 57 countries including Australia met in Santa Marta, Colombia in April for the world’s first conference on the transition away from fossil fuels — a landmark moment signalling political winds of change in the face of threats to multilateralism.
Speaking from Bonn, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Amidst a global energy crisis, accelerating climate disasters and a looming super El Niño, the urgency to accelerate climate action and break free from fossil fuel dependence has never been clearer.
“Minister Bowen has been telling Australia and the world that we are in a global ‘fossil fuel crisis’, and that unhooking from fossil fuels is fundamental both to tackling the climate crisis and to ensuring secure and affordable energy. It’s time to match that message with a clear vision and agenda for COP31 — one that has the transition away from fossil fuels at its heart.
“As COP31 President of Negotiations, Australia has both the opportunity and responsibility to build on the momentum of COP30 in Belém and the recent landmark conference in Santa Marta on transitioning away from fossil fuels. This includes leading by example at home, with an immediate halt to new fossil fuel projects — including the mammoth proposed Browse gas project — and committing to develop a national roadmap away from fossil fuel production.”
“Few countries have as much skin the game as Australia: we are a country highly vulnerable to extreme heat, fires, floods and other impacts of climate change, we are suffering the consequences of fossil fuel dependency in terms of our energy security and affordability, but we have some of the world’s best renewable energy opportunities.
“Bonn is a key moment for the incoming Presidency to start shaping the vision, building the necessary trust, and actively setting priorities and expectations for the COP. We therefore hope and expect our Minister to be much more vocal and active in Bonn.
“Australia, in partnership with the Pacific, is taking the reins of global climate cooperation at a critical moment in the world’s transition away from fossil fuels. There is no more time to lose.”
Also in Bonn, Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Multilateral cooperation is the antidote to climate and geopolitical chaos. At Bonn, Pacific nations’ legacy of leadership from the frontlines of the climate crisis can be our guiding star as we build a more peaceful and secure world for all.
“We must build on the progress at Santa Marta and break the hold fossil fuels have on our global security and economies. Pacific nations are already facing the brunt of a global climate crisis, but now facing the compounding injustice of an energy crisis brought on by fossil fuel dependence. We did not create either of these crises, but are among the most exposed to both.
“The International Court of Justice made clear that responsibility to address the climate crisis extends beyond borders and that continuing to expand fossil fuel production, including for export, could constitute an internationally wrongful act — a ruling that has now been overwhelmingly endorsed by the UN General Assembly. Continuing down the fossil fuel path, and failing to align efforts with limiting warming to 1.5C, is a breach of our international legal obligations.
“We must not lose sight of what’s needed — by elevating the voices of Pacific leaders, backing Pacific-led solutions, and maximising the opportunity of the Pacific pre-COP, we can ensure the 1.5°C imperative and the transition away from fossil fuels are central to the agenda at COP31, and that communities are granted the finance they need to build a strong, resilient future beyond fossil fuels.”
Ahead of SB64, Greenpeace International has produced a policy briefing outlining the core elements of a just transition away from fossil fuels and the urgent, priority actions needed from national governments and through global co-operation to make it a reality.[1]
ENDS
[1] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Policy Briefing
Photos in the Greenpeace Media Library
Media contact
Kate O’Callaghan on +61 406 231 892 (Whatsapp/Signal) or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
For decades, a landfill has towered over the town of Brookhaven. A groundwater contamination plume has spread beneath nearby properties.
BROOKHAVEN, N.Y.—The crowd grew restless at Brookhaven Town Hall on Long Island as residents voiced their concerns about groundwater contamination from a nearby landfill that has spread beneath parts of their community.
Troubled by Spreading Landfill Pollution, a Long Island Community Demands Action
Groups work to identify, save and reseed areas to help the culturally significant resource thrive as climate change portends more strains.
Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, was 7 years old when he attended his first rice harvest in northern Wisconsin. He and his sister rode in a canoe while his mom pushed the boat with a pole through the plants growing out of the shallow water. Together, they tapped the plants with sticks. Rice seeds rained into the canoe; others fell into the water.
Wild Rice Faces Numerous Threats—and Has Determined Protectors
Sustainability In Your Ear: Ethan and Desmond Hua Build HOPE for School Uniform Reuse
Bowen urged to lead with vision and ambition to accelerate fossil fuel phase out at Bonn climate meeting, as global energy crisis bites
Court Keeps GE on Vineyard Wind, France Plans Huge Wind Farm
-
Climate Change10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Renewable Energy8 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Greenhouse Gases11 months ago
嘉宾来稿：探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测