Why focus on the Asian Development Bank?
Asia is a crucial part of the world when it comes to energy and climate change. All too often we hear politicians citing the growth of energy demand in China and India as an excuse to avoid serious action to cut emissions at home. It is true that demand for energy is increasing massively in these countries, and others, which is why there is a need to push for and support sustainable energy, instead of reliance on fossil fuels. The threat from climate change in Asia is severe. The most recent report on the impacts of climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that communities in developing countries, including many of the countries where the ADB funds activities, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The report found that the likely impacts of climate change in Asia include: • Increased water stress, with glaciers melting in the Himalayas and decreasing availability of freshwater. More than a billion people could be adversely affected by
