The Asian Development Bank (ADB)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966. It is a regional development bank, which “envisions a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty in the region.” It currently has 68 member countries, out of which 49 are regional. The United States of America is the most significant non regional member, with 13% of votes, which is equal to Japan, the most important Asian shareholder. To date, all of the ADB’s presidents have been from Japan. All other non-regional members are European countries, apart from Canada and Turkey. Japan, the US and China have their own Executive Directors on the ADB Board, with the remaining member countries represented in nine constituencies.

Recourse work on the ADB:

Recourse focuses on the ADB’s track record on energy and climate change and pushes for the ADB to align with the Paris Agreement on climate change. Working with our partners and allies, we engage actively in advocacy and campaigning activities, including influencing policies, such as ADB’s Energy Policy and Safeguard Policy Statement. We pay particular attention to the ADB’s lending through financial intermediaries, a risky ‘hands-off’ form of investment through third parties, such as private equity funds, or commercial banks, brings with it higher risks.