Experts urge renewable energy focus in budget
Energy experts, environmental activists, and organisers have stressed the need to increase investment in renewable energy in Bangladesh, stating that the country’s import-dependent fossil fuel system is not sustainable in the long term.
The demand was made at a press conference titled “Global Energy Crisis and Renewable Energy: Pre-Budget Policy Setting,” held at the Sumi Community Center in Rangpur city on Thursday (June 4).
Ujjwal Chakraborty, Executive Director of the environmental and development-focused non-governmental organization DOPS, said that in the context of ongoing instability in the global energy market, rising fossil fuel prices, and increasing electricity generation costs in the country, renewable energy should be given top priority in the national budget.
He noted that due to the rising prices of oil, LNG, and coal in the international market, Bangladesh’s electricity generation costs have increased significantly. At the same time, pressure on foreign exchange reserves is mounting because of the fossil fuel-dependent power system, while huge subsidies and capacity payments are placing an additional burden on the national economy.
At the press conference, Farhaduzzaman Faruk, Member Secretary of the Environment Protection Forum, Rangpur, urged the government to take appropriate initiatives to utilize renewable energy in public buildings, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and phase out fuel-burning systems where possible.
He said that the share of renewable energy in the country’s total power generation capacity remains very low. However, initiatives such as rooftop solar systems, solar-powered irrigation, agrivoltaics, floating solar panels, floating solar power technology, and community-based energy systems can play a significant role in ensuring the country’s energy security. SM Piyal, President of the Forum on Ecology and Development, Rangpur, urged the government to increase public awareness and give greater importance to the renewable energy sector to address the climate crisis and build a future free from dependence on fossil fuels.
