The power sector in Bangladesh, drowning in red ink and fossil fuel reliance, has overtaken all else as the prime pollution culprit. With 28 percent of air toxins from its plants, the environmental damage is profound, matched only by the fiscal drain. Insights from local coverage paint a grim picture.
Enter the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED)’s 13-point manifesto for equitable energy shift. Carbon spikes and costs—$18.5 billion capacity charges, $27.23 billion BPDB losses, $11.72 billion fuel imports—scream for renewables now.
Wind down fossil subsidies to boost green uptake across sectors. Prohibit new dirty plants, reemploy workers, stop LNG expansions, and seal gas leaks. Craft a binding transition plan with milestones, policy integration, and funding surges for clean tech. Drop taxes on solar imports.
Transport overhaul: duty cuts for EVs, battery tax holidays, public EV push. ‘Just transition’ spotlights equity—training, green jobs, finance for youth, women, tribes, farmers. No more farmland seizures; promote rural renewables.
For the incoming government, this is the playbook to lighten loads on purse and planet. Political will can turn pollution into prosperity.