Sustainable development is not possible without renewable energy
Bangladesh needs to move towards renewable energy for environmental protection, economic viability and uninterrupted power generation. Otherwise, sustainable development will not be possible.
The speakers were speaking these while attending the second-day session of a two-day international conference on “Energy, Climate Change and Sustainable Development,” jointly organized by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN).
Dr. Deepen Bhattacharya, a scientist and member of BAPA, raised the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant issue in Bangladesh. He said, “Most developed countries globally, including Japan, are at risk of producing such electricity.
Despite having many financial and technical abilities, they could not avoid the accident. As a result, it will be difficult for Bangladesh to survive financially, technically and accidentally.”
Simon Nicholas, a researcher at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a US-based think tank, presented a picture of Bangladesh’s power generation and demand. Meanwhile, he said,
“Mujib had an ambitious plan for renewable energy production in the Climate Prosperity Plan. But according to him, there is no government support and investment in renewable energy. As a result, he expressed doubts about whether it will fulfill.”
Dr. M Tamim, Professor & Energy specialist of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said that coal-fired power generation has been on the rise in the world since the 1980s. Then electricity started to generate from nuclear, gas and other sources.
But after the Paris climate agreement in 2015, the developed countries of the world are moving away from power generation from other polluting sources, including coal.
They are leaning towards renewable energy and LNG. Since the Corona situation, the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has risen. Oil prices are also increasing due to instability in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
