Asian Development Bank technical assistance: Prolonging reliance on fossil gas under the guise of energy transition

The briefing contends that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) uses technical assistance (TA) to enable fossil gas infrastructure and planning, despite pledges to align with the Paris Agreement. It highlights how vague terms like 'low-carbon' and 'transition infrastructure' allow the ADB to support gas-related projects in countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia. The document notes that TA for energy projects in 2024 lacked fuel specifications in 45.9% of cases, hindering transparency. It further argues that these projects often ignore gender impacts and risk creating stranded assets. The author recommends that the ADB explicitly exclude fossil gas from its 'clean energy' definitions and phase out all direct and indirect support for midstream and downstream gas infrastructure.

• The ADB's 2021 energy policy and 2024 Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) update maintain loopholes that allow continued support for midstream and downstream fossil gas by framing it as a 'transitional fuel' or using ambiguous terms like 'low-carbon transition'.
• Technical assistance (TA) acts as a strategic precursor to full-scale gas projects, creating a risk of stranded assets and long-term fossil dependency. In 2024, 45.9% of TA for energy projects, totaling $16.51 million, did not specify the fuel or energy technology used.
• In Pakistan, the ADB has approved at least $3.7 million in TA between 2021 and 2024 for gas-related planning, which the document claims legitimises gas as a core feature of the country's future energy system.
• The ADB has failed to apply its own gender policy to upstream energy planning and advisory work, with gas-related TA projects in Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan classified as having 'no gender elements'.

APA

Bhuee, R. (2025). Asian Development Bank technical assistance: Prolonging reliance on fossil gas under the guise of energy transition. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ADB-technical-assistance_briefing_digital_final.pdf

Chicago

Bhuee, Rajneesh. Asian Development Bank technical assistance: Prolonging reliance on fossil gas under the guise of energy transition. Trend Asia, 2025. https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ADB-technical-assistance_briefing_digital_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bhuee |first1=Rajneesh |title=Asian Development Bank technical assistance: Prolonging reliance on fossil gas under the guise of energy transition |publisher=Trend Asia |date=May 2025 |url=https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ADB-technical-assistance_briefing_digital_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bhuee2025asian, author = {Bhuee, Rajneesh}, title = {{Asian Development Bank technical assistance: Prolonging reliance on fossil gas under the guise of energy transition}}, institution = {Trend Asia}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://trendasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ADB-technical-assistance_briefing_digital_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }