April 30, 2026
Brief Paper
Partners in gas: How the ADB’s investment in Clifford Capital continues to support fossil gas in Asia
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) financial intermediary (FI) lending has remained opaque since the bank started its private sector operations in the 1980s. This lack of transparency can create a loophole in the restrictions on fossil fuels introduced during the review of the bank’s 2021 Energy Policy in 2025. With the ADB still considering fossil gas as a transition fuel, and as its FIs are still allowed to invest in mid- and downstream fossil gas projects, the bank’s commitment to Paris Alignment remains a half-baked promise.
This briefing examines the ADB’s investments in Clifford Capital, one of its FI clients, to illustrate how the bank’s FI lending can serve as an indirect channel of support for fossil gas. It also presents case studies on the environmental and social harms of Tangguh LNG (Indonesia) and Bhola-2 (Bangladesh), two fossil gas projects funded by Clifford Capital. Through its different financial products and services, such as loans, securitisation and underwriting, Clifford Capital invests in fossil fuels, including upstream fossil gas and oil projects, in Asia and globally. The lack of transparency in Clifford Capital’s subproject portfolio is an example of the general opacity of ADB’s FI lending. This lack of disclosure prevents affected communities from holding responsible financiers to account. It also makes it difficult to monitor compliance with the ADB’s environmental and social safeguards and its Paris Alignment commitments. We recommend the ADB to:
Use its leverage and influence with Clifford Capital to prohibit funding for new fossil gas infrastructure across its portfolio, including its underwriting and securitisation projects.
Ensure that Clifford Capital and its subprojects apply the new ADB Environmental and Social Framework requirements for FIs; this means that Clifford Capital must: disclose its annual exposure to fossil gas and oil investments across its portfolio and, publicly disclose supported subprojects through the ADB’s website, including the name, location and sector for all Category A/Higher risk sub-projects.
Disclose its involvement in the project to communities at all subproject sites, with project-level grievance redress mechanisms (GRMs) and access to the ADB's Accountability Mechanism communicated during stakeholder consultations and on project signage.
Contribute to the remediation of social and environmental harms caused by its investment in Clifford Capital. Apply lessons learned from its investment in Clifford Capital and the actions taken to address harms to other FIs in its existing portfolio, and in future FI investments.
Review its exposure to fossil gas and other fossil fuels through FIs and create a Paris-aligned, time-bound plan to exit fossil fuels.
This briefing was published by Recourse in collaboration with NGO Forum on ADB, Trend Asia, and CLEAN Bangladesh, ahead of the Asian Development Bank annual meetings 2026. Download the full briefing here or read the Executive summary below.