ADB to end financing for coal mining, oil and natural gas activities

10 May 2021 CW Team

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to end the financing of coal mining, oil, and natural gas production and exploration, a move which was long overdue, according to environmental groups.

The bank that focuses on ending poverty in Asia gave no timeline for its commitment. It laid out conditions under which the fossil fuel projects will continue to receive funding where none of the cost-effective technology was available.

Head of the ADB's energy sector, Yongping Zhai, told the media that the draft would be volitional by the board of directors in October.

Earlier this week, the Green groups urged the ADB to end loans for the overall fossil fuel sectors.

The senior policy advisor at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, Pedro H Maniego Jr, has said that the coal ban policy is a decade late but still helps to build the economic case for the energy transition to the governments and the investors.

Maniego cited that if the bank considers fossil fuels as a bridge and transition fuel, it should stipulate an end.

In the early 1960s, the ADB, headquartered in Manila, has channelled $42.5 billion in energy sectors across the country between 2009 and 2019, as per its website.

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Also read: ADB, Centre sign $231 mn loan to enhance hydropower in Assam

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