On 1 December, the Board approved the Urban Transport Electrification Project with ADB providing $50.65 million in loan and grants to the Kyrgyz Republic for the purchase of 120 modern, battery-electric buses that will replace outdated diesel and trolleybuses.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (29 April 2020) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $346 million loan to India to help provide efficient and reliable power connection to rural agriculture customers in the state of Maharashtra.Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, and about half of the state’s labor force is engaged in agriculture and related activities in the rural areas. Agriculture output, however, has been impacted by lack of irrigation, less-than-efficient use of electricity and water, as well as inadequate storage and connectivity to markets.

President Masa and IEA Fatih Birol held a videoconference on 8 June to discuss future collaboration between ADB and the IEA. ADB first signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the IEA in 2017 to facilitate knowledge and analytical work to pursue clean energy development in ADB DMCs.

Building up on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2017 President Masa and International Energy Agency Executive Director, Fatih Birol signed a new MOU to deepen the collaboration between the two organizations particularly on energy sector resilience in Asia and the Pacific.The new 3-year MOU will merge the comparative advantages of the two organizations as they share knowledge and best practice in energy sector data and analysis, on-the-ground engagement, capacity building, technology, and innovation.

On 20 October, the Board approved the 2021 Energy Policy to help ADB developing member countries accelerate the development of sustainable and resilient energy systems that provide reliable and affordable access for all, foster inclusive economic growth and social development, and support the low-carbon transition in the region.

The 16th Asia Clean Energy Forum closed on Friday, 18 June with the message: the time to act is now and there is strength in working together. During the ACEF Opening Plenary, President Masa urged everyone in attendance to take “bold action now and commit wholeheartedly to fighting climate change and meeting the emission-reduction goals under the Paris Agreement, while ensuring universal energy access in a region where more than 200 million people still lack access to electricity.” What this will require is a paradigm shift from what the world has been used to doing.

The release of the World Energy Outlook 2020 has been scheduled by the International Energy Agency tomorrow, 13 October 2020. This year’s WEO will put the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) at the core of its analysis in its outlook, implications, and prospects for energy around the world.The long-term horizon in its modeling are maintained but the focus will be given by the WEO 2020 on the next 10 years, looking at the specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector and the near-term actions that could hasten the transition towards clean energy.

Energy SG Chief Yongping Zhai in an interview with Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) published on 25 February shares his views and insights on how ADB had continued to support its developing member countries amidst the coronavirus pandemic, its contributions to climate finance, and the review and update of ADB’s Energy Policy.The year 2020 turned out to be a record year for the energy sector not only in ADB but also globally, the COVID-19 notwithstanding. Energy sector lending in ADB increased by around 70% to $4.2 billion from 2019.

For the third consecutive year, ADB was awarded the Development Financing Institution of the Year by IJGlobal, a leading project finance and infrastructure journal. Four ADB projects, three of which are from the energy sector were also cited for different award categories.The SOL: Tina River Hydro Power Project was awarded the Hydro Deal of the Year. The project will be the largest public-private partnership project ever developed in the Solomon Islands.

Despite improvements in electricity access in recent years, there are still 155 million people that remain without electricity connections in developing Asia.[1]  This is compounded by the very low rates of access to clean cooking.