Green activists gathered in a rally at Central Shaheed Minar in Barishal on Friday called for increasing renewable energy use as the two-day G20 summit began in New Delhi on the same day.
The programme was jointly organised by Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network and Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt. Citing experts, speakers said that some $170 billion investment would be required by 2041 in power, energy and mineral resources sector.
Over 95 per cent of the country’s power generation capacity is based on gas, coal and diesel, mostly imported, that cost Bangladesh billions over the last decade, they added.
The demand to increase investment in renewable energy instead of gas, coal, and oil-based fuel was made before the summit as the fossil fuels were mostly imported from the G-20 countries, and rich countries would decide the fate of low-income countries in the summit, said the speakers.
Terming the policy to keep investing in fossil fuel as the policy of impoverishment, the speaker demanded abolishment of such policies.
They said that it should be replaced with one promoting renewable energy.
