US urges Asian Development Bank to lift restrictions on energy project financing

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should reassess its policy priorities by strengthening support for the most vulnerable countries, expanding access to affordable and reliable energy, and improving project implementation efficiency.

The call was made by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement read out during a working session of governors at the 59th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors.

The statement emphasized that ADB support should help strengthen the self-sufficiency of developing member countries, and that the bank should take a stricter and more objective approach to its borrower graduation policy. It noted that economies such as China and Malaysia have long met the criteria for ending borrowing.

"Graduation from IDB borrowing status is a definitive marker of success for both the bank and the borrower. It is long overdue for ADB to more clearly prioritize countries with the greatest development needs and the least access to markets, including low-income countries, fragile and conflict-affected states, and small island developing states in the Pacific," the statement said.

A separate emphasis was placed on energy policy. The US welcomed ADB's decision to lift its ban on financing nuclear energy, but urged the bank to go further by supporting a broader range of technologies, including fossil fuel projects, particularly gas.

"The ADB should expand access to affordable and reliable energy, abandon arbitrary climate financing targets that distort markets and project selection and may conflict with poverty reduction and growth objectives," the statement noted.

The statement also stressed the need to double efforts to reduce poverty, improve project implementation quality, and increase resource efficiency. According to the US side, as a development institution, ADB should focus on delivering concrete results and high-quality initiatives.