Investor confidence, changes in policymakers鈥� outlook, home-grown policy and economic viability of power projects are highly crucial for shifting towards generating clean energy, experts said.
They made the observation at a seminar on the 鈥楴ationally Determined Contributions 3.0 for the Power Sector:聽 Is Bangladesh Setting Ambitious Targets?鈥�, held in the capital Dhaka.
Arranged by the Centre for Policy Dialogue before the submission of the NDC 3.0 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the next month by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the seminar was mainly concentrated on the current status of the renewable energy and barriers to future prospects.
As per the Paris Agreement, signed by almost all countries, each nation has to update its carbon emission status in every five years with the vision of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees, by cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero in the second half of the century.
Bangladesh submitted its NDC 2.0 in 2021, which included a conditional emission reduction target of 89.47 MtCO2e by 2030, and covered sectors like energy, industry, agriculture, and waste.
Speaking at the seminar, experts focused on recommendations put forward by the CPD on the NDC 3.0 and estimates over the required generation capacity of renewable energy to reach the clean energy target by 2040 in a study.
They said that nothing could be met unless confidence of the investors were restored.
M Rezwan Khan, chairman of the Power Grid Bangladesh PLC, said that investors鈥� confidence in the Bangladesh power development was very low.
Criticising the government arm twisting policy to clear the arrears, Rezwan said that without changing in attitude of the government NDC 3.0, NCD 4.0 NCD 5.0 would not alter the scenario.
The county has already determined to transition away from fossil fuels by generating 20 per cent of the power from renewable energy by 2030 and 30 per cent of the power from renewable energy by 2040.
At present, the amount of clean energy is about 5.19 per cent of the country鈥檚 total installed power capacity.
Former Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies director general Asaduzzaman criticised the interim government for failing to take any initiative to draft the Climate Law.
Lack of understanding by ministries and divisions on national policies and issues is still persisting, he said.
CPD research director Golam Moazzem moderated the seminar where the exclusion of battery as part of the renewable energy was criticised at the open-floor discussion.
Former member of the parliament Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman said the inclusion of battery was a suitable and economically viable option to preserve renewable energy.
Energy expert Ijaz Hossain, however, said he did not support the idea of funding solar power plants with own resources only. He also said the CPD gave less focus on wind energy in its projection.
Participating in the discussion the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change officials said they had already drafted the NDC 3.0 and was expected to finalise it before its submission in the next month.
BPDB officials said they had floated tenders for more than 40 solar power plants to generate 5,000 megawatts and a committee was formed to formulate a power sector strategy.
Former Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association president Imran Karim hoped that the tender would be settled timely.
