With the ongoing G-20 Summit, a discussion meeting was held in Rajshahi to realise the 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan' and a traditional 'Gombhira' song was served demanding to stop funding in fossil fuels and to finance in renewable energy.
Development Organisations Paribartan, Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Working Group, Growthwatch and Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development jointly organised the programme at the local Lalon Shah Open Stage on Friday evening.
Speakers at the programme said, the main determiner of the development and progress is the electricity and fuel sector. According to the experts, it will require investing 170 billion dollars in electricity, fuel and mineral resources by 2041 but the Direct Foreign Investment in 2013 was $13.9 billion whereas the the amount of DFI in 2022 was $ 211.5 billion. They said, 82 per cent of the total Electricity Production Capacity of the country rely on gas, coat or diesel and most of these fuels are import dependent. Bangladesh imports gas and coal mostly from the G-20 countries. The speakers, thus demanded the G-20 leaders not to invest in gas, coal or oil-based fuel but to invest in renewable energies which are suitable for the overall development of Bangladesh.
The speakers further mentioned the government has arrears of $ 2.5 billion to private Power Generation Units. BPC informed, the fuel-supplying companies owe $ 10.6 crore from BPC. Bangladesh is spending time with a crucial crisis at present and while world leaders including Bangladesh are holding meetings to determine the fate of people of the least developed countries, the speakers demanded to stop investing in fossil fuels and to invest in renewable energies for all.
Speakers at the discussion meeting reiterated their demands to invest in renewable energies suitable for Bangladesh; to discard the povertisation policy by the G-20 countries and to increase the capacity.
They further mentioned the investment of the rich countries is destroying the lives of the people of Bangladesh and increasing reliance on others. Thus the G-20 leaders were requested to cancel their investment in fossil fuels and to use money to stop carbon dioxide emissions.
The discussion meeting was addressed, among others, by the Director of Paribartan Rashed Ripon, Senior Reporter Mostafizur Rahman Khan, Development activist Mahmud Un Nabi and Tahera Khatun. Ranga Rasa theatre served the traditional Gombhira song after the discussion meeting.