Baku: Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan emphasized that energy transition and climate financing are pivotal for Bangladesh’s sustainable development. Speaking as the chief guest at the session titled “Pathways to Tripling Renewables in South Asia” during the Conference of Parties-29 (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, she announced that the Bangladesh government is revising its energy policies to shift from fossil fuel-based energy to renewables.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Rizwana mentioned that high import tariffs are currently under reconsideration, and the government is encouraging foreign investments in solar energy. She pointed out that air pollution, mainly driven by power plants, makes this a crucial time for Bangladesh to invest in renewable energy. She highlighted that rooftop solar installations could potentially meet up to 40 percent of the country’s renewable energy needs. Furthermore, underutilised lands, such as tea estates and government-owned barren la
nds, present opportunities for renewable energy projects.
Rizwana also revealed that Bangladesh is exploring regional hydropower opportunities from Nepal and Bhutan through India and is eager to establish a regional transmission system to efficiently integrate solar and wind energy. Earlier at the climate meet, she addressed a session titled “Bilateral with LDC Ministers on Mitigation,” where she stressed the urgent need to close the emissions gap this decade to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
She stated that achieving this target requires reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035, relative to 2019 levels, with a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Rizwana called for enhanced international cooperation and support for implementing the conditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). She emphasized that the Mitigation Work Programme must facilitate the mobilisation of financial resources and investment
s to achieve these targets.
Rizwana warned that global dialogues need to remove barriers to accessing climate finance. If emissions continue to rise, she cautioned, the cost of adaptation will exceed the capacity to respond.