Calls ramp up for UBS to drop fossil fuel financing
Geneva, Switzerland – As the Building Bridges conference opens, community representatives from Southeast Asia are urging the financial sector to stop backsliding on climate promises and align capital flows with pathways that protect both people and the planet.
Representatives from the Philippine-based Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) point to the role of Swiss financial giant UBS, which recently exited the Net Zero Banking Alliance, in financing Southeast Asian fossil fuel companies that enable more gas infrastructure amid worsening climate impacts.
According to the Southeast Asia Fossil Fuel Divestment Scorecard, UBS, a known backer of Building Bridges, is the 7th biggest international financier of downstream gas projects in Southeast Asia from 2016 to 2024–channeling 329 million USD through underwriting. This includes underwriting for San Miguel Corporation, a Philippine-based conglomerate that owns one of the two gas power plants in the embattled Verde Island Passage.
“UBS and other major financial institutions cannot present themselves as champions of sustainable financing while continuing to bankroll fossil fuel expansion in Southeast Asia,” says Gerry Arances, Convener of Energy Shift Southeast Asia. “Communities in the Philippines live with the consequences of these investments — from the destruction of critical ecosystems like the Verde Island Passage to worsening climate risks. True bridge-building means aligning finance with a just and sustainable transition, not locking us deeper into fossil dependence.”
Civil society groups stressed that the test for Building Bridges lies in whether it can move financiers toward decisions that protect vulnerable communities rather than deepen dependence on fossil fuels.
“Building Bridges Diamond sponsor UBS cannot finance the destruction of Southeast Asian ecosystems and exacerbate the global climate crisis while presenting itself as committed to sustainability. The summit is meaningless if its sponsors are so seriously inconsistent. The credibility of the overall initiative is at stake,” says Guillaume Durin from BreakFree Switzerland.
The groups published an open-letter calling on UBS to stop fossil fuel financing in light of rising community and financial risks. “The overwhelming climate, economic, environmental, and social evidence clearly indicates that continued investment in fossil fuels is detrimental to business,” the letter reads.
Fossil Free Thailand says: “The impacts of fossil fuel financing fall hardest on communities whose ways of life are destroyed along with the natural resources and ecosystems they depend on. Their voices are further silenced by some companies backed by UBS. Meanwhile UBS and other financial institutions publicly speak of sustainability. The only credible way forward is to align finance with environmental protection and human rights.”
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[1] The open letter follows a letter sent by civil society groups representing frontline communities from Asia demanding UBS not to purchase new bonds to be issued by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), which have made fossil fuel projects possible, causing violations of laws and human rights of local people. UBS has not responded as of writing.
[2] Building Bridges is an annual conference held in Geneva that convenes stakeholders from finance, government, civil society, and international organizations to advance dialogue on aligning global capital with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. This year’s Building Bridges runs from 30 September – 2 October 2025.
[3] With a total of $16.3 million, UBS is the second-largest European investor in San Miguel Global Power. For reference, please see UBS semi-annual report 2024 Asian High Yield & Asia Flexible Funds here and here.
[4] Data collected by the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES) shows that UBS holds USD 26.7 million worth of JBIC bonds as of August 2025, which has enabled projects that are associated with corruption, human rights violations, and environmental damage.
[5] UBS is the second largest shareholder of Gulf Development, Thailand’s largest private power producer, and a major developer of natural gas-fired power projects.