ADB, Clifford Capital and Fossil Gas in Asia

The briefing argues that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) uses financial intermediaries (FIs) like Clifford Capital to bypass restrictions on fossil gas investments. While the ADB committed to Paris Agreement goals in 2017 and stopped financing coal, it provided approximately $4.48bn for oil and gas infrastructure in Asia Pacific between 2017 and 2025. The document highlights Clifford Capital, which received a $95m equity investment from the ADB in 2020, as a channel for funding fossil gas projects, including the Tangguh LNG project in Indonesia and Bhola-2 in Bangladesh. The authors call for greater transparency in FI lending, a prohibition on new fossil gas infrastructure funding, and a time-bound fossil fuels exit plan.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided approximately $4.48 billion to support oil and gas infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region between 2017 and 2025, despite committing to align investments with the Paris Agreement in 2017.
• The ADB's financial intermediary (FI) lending is characterized by a lack of transparency that creates a loophole, allowing the bank to indirectly support fossil gas projects and bypass restrictions introduced during the 2021 Energy Policy review in 2025.
• Clifford Capital, which received a $95 million equity investment from the ADB in 2020, serves as an example of an FI that invests in fossil fuels globally and in Asia through loans, underwriting, and securitisation, including the Tangguh LNG project in Indonesia and the Bhola-2 project in Bangladesh.
• The opacity of Clifford Capital's subproject portfolio prevents affected communities from holding financiers accountable and hinders the monitoring of compliance with the ADB's Paris Alignment commitments and environmental and social safeguards.

APA

Race, M. (2026). ADB, Clifford Capital and Fossil Gas in Asia. Recourse. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/adb-clifford-capital-fossil-gas-asia/

Chicago

Race, Madeleine. ADB, Clifford Capital and Fossil Gas in Asia. Recourse, 2026. https://re-course.org/newsupdates/adb-clifford-capital-fossil-gas-asia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Race |first1=Madeleine |title=ADB, Clifford Capital and Fossil Gas in Asia |publisher=Recourse |date=29 April 2026 |url=https://re-course.org/newsupdates/adb-clifford-capital-fossil-gas-asia/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{race2026adb, author = {Race, Madeleine}, title = {{ADB, Clifford Capital and Fossil Gas in Asia}}, institution = {Recourse}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://re-course.org/newsupdates/adb-clifford-capital-fossil-gas-asia/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }