The implementation of a green transition is crucial to address both energy security concerns and combat the climate crisis, especially in climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh. The significance of such transition lies in providing affordable and reliable energy to everyone, consistently.
A zonal and national campaign plan was designed based on this urgency and need for green transition in the โCampaign Planning Workshop on Just & Green Transitionโ held from 8-10 June 2023 at Hotel Western Inn, Khulna. Jointly organized by Participatory Research and Action Network- PRAAN, CLEAN Bangladesh, and The Earth Society, the event was focused on sharing knowledge on the overall energy scenario in Bangladesh, renewable energy, the status of fossil-fueled power plants, negative aftermaths of coal and LNG-based power plant on environment, ecology, and economy and importance of timely campaigns to promote green transition.
Through several sessions including issues related to the energy sector, campaign challenges, and techniques, the participants come up with a comprehensive plan for the span of the upcoming year to raise the demands for renewable energy at the national and global levels. The recently announced Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) was exclusively appreciated by all because of its amazing panning to adopt Renewable Energy. According to this policy, the Government of Bangladesh is committed to implementing 30% Renewable Energy by 2030, 40% by 2041, and 100%. But unfortunately, only 3% of renewable energy is currently added to the national grid which put added importance on the urgent necessity to prioritize the promotion of renewable energy in all the campaign initiatives.
The facilitators presented informative contexts, situations, and findings in the power sector and shared success stories of community grid lines depending on solar energy. The participants agreed that the new investments in fossil-fueled power plants need to be stopped; therefore, this is high time the government should discard the plan for new LNG-based power plants and IEPMP projects that conflict with MCPP.
More than 30 participants including representatives from organizations working on relevant issues, individual activists, and lawyers joined the workshop to design an urgent action plan to accelerate the transition. Only by embracing renewable energy sources, Bangladesh can address environmental challenges, strengthen its economy, and ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all citizens.
