Sinalubong ng kilos-protesta ang taunang pagpupulong Asian Development Bank (ADB) sa Ortigas Center sa Mandaluyong City.
Ito ay matapos sumugod ang mga miyembro ng Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development para kalampagin ang ADB na itigil na ang pagpopondo sa gas at tugunan ang tumataas na public debts dahil sa ADB fossil fuel projects.
“It is deplorable that the ADB continues to support fossil fuel projects. We have less than a decade to halve greenhouse gas emissions to avoid a climate catastrophe. We call on the bank to immediately end all forms of support for all fossil fuel projects, not just coal, and cancel all fossil fuel debts,” pahayag ni Lidy Nacpil, coordinator ng Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development.
Ayon kay Nacpil, dahil sa fossil fuel projects, maraming bansa ang napipilitang gumamit ng napakamahal na fossil fuel-based energy systems.
Maraming kabuhayan na rin anjya ang nasira at marami ang nagkasakit dahil sa mga proyekto ng ADB.
Nabatid na nasa $4.7 bilyon ang nagastos ng ADB sa fossil gas financing mula nang i-adopt ang Paris Agreement.
“We remind the ADB that its declared commitment to move away from fossil fuels and, specifically, to stop funding new coal power production, does not erase the accountability for the human and environmental toll left in the wake of the projects it has funded. If anything, the tacit recognition that its fossil fuel projects have and continue to contribute to worsening climate change erodes the legitimacy of the debts that financed the same,” pahayag ni Nacpil.
Sinabi naman ni Ian Rivera, National Coordinator ng Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), na ilan sa loan approvals ay inaprubahan kahit labag sa sariling environmental standards ng ADB at kahit na walang masusing pag-aaral sa renewable energy alternatives.
“Communities still bear adverse impacts of coal projects the ADB funded through loans to the Philippines and other Asian countries. The people, especially the vulnerable and impacted communities, must not be made to suffer the impacts of dirty and harmful projects and continue to pay for them as well,” pahayag ni Rivera.