ADB Annual General Meeting 2006

It's around 2am now and everybody has just went to sleep. It has been a very busy day but I just had to write about the exciting things that happened today! Before narrating today's (or yesterday's) events, let me introduce myself. I am Denise, a SolarGeneration member from the Philippines who has gone all the way here, in India, to bear witness to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s shortcomings when it comes to combatting climate change.

Today is the first day of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ADB and everyone was really swamped with tons of responsibilities. I was supposed to join fellow SolarGeneration members in drafting our declaration and in practicing for our public presentation but I had to go with some of the Greenpeace representatives to Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) to help out with the Impacts Exhibition. It was quite a challenge because Samir (one of two GP India Actions Coordinators) and I had to go back to the hotel to get some additional materials. Well, I was able to get through with that and put up the exhibit with the help of Sri (GP India Energy Campaigner) and Red (GPSEA Energy Campaigner). And, yes, the exhibit really had an impact. I had the ADB NGO Coordinator Bart Edes suggesting that I put up greener pictures instead, those that could probably show ADB's good green projects. I just managed to give a smile then went on to finish putting up the exhibit.

After the exhibit, I luckily spotted Fa (SolarGen coordinator in Thailand) and we went on to meet with other SolarGen members Cheng from China and Harshini from India. Earlier in the day, Fa, together with community leaders in Thailand and other Greenpeace campaigners, went to meet with the ADB President and gave the bank president a bowl of coal to bring to him the message that coal power plants in Thailand are doing no good to the people and there is no way to go but to stop funding coal projects and put the dough into renewables instead.

At around 430pm, we went to listen to Red's speech at the Regional Integration and Natural Resource Impacts Seminar and witnessed how one of ADB's top officials easily dismissed Greenpeace's demands to ADB to re-direct funds to renewable energy projects. He said that renewables is not as least cost-effective as it is thought to be and that there will always be losers and winners. It's a food for thought, really. How a man of influence could easily say that just completely baffles me.

But what could be more baffling (or surprising) than Greenpeace's sudden beaming of climate change messages to the people of Andhra Pradesh and to the ADB delegates? After Red's talk, we went to the ADB's hosted dinner to give the people a reminder that climate change is happening now and that there should be no time wasted in fighting it. Jasper (GP Southeast Asia Philippines Energy Campaigner), Maia (GP International Campaign Assistant), Inaki and Samir took care of projecting the images on the white wall of a hotel near the hosted dinner's venue while the rest of us went to the dinner to get people to look at the beamed messages. The beaming was right on cue! When the cultural presentation finished, there was a pause and suddenly you find people turning their heads to look at beamed messages such as "CLIMATE CHANGE: THE PARTY IS OVER" and "ADB: STOP FUNDING COAL NOW!"

Cheng initially didn't plan on going (because she had to do last-minute shopping for the next day's events) but admitted on the way home that she was glad she went to the beaming instead. The experience was inspiring and rejuvenating and it suddenly had Cheng, Marc, and I plan more activities to have our presence felt and our message reach across to the higher ups of ADB. At the end of the day, I couldn't help but say to myself, "This is good weariness, one that gives you more energy to look forward to the days to come."

And I sure hope that all of you will also look forward to the days to come because we have planned great activities that'll surely blow "coal ashes" away.