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Dhaka Friday,  Mar 29, 2024

President seeks global support to promote solar energy

BSS

President M Abdul Hamid today reaffirmed firm commitment to further promote renewable energy, more particularly solar one, saying that Bangladesh is always ready to mutually collaborate and cooperate for ensuring affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

“Our priorities are often underpinned by developmental goals . . .
Nevertheless, we should not forget to protect environment for the benefit of our future generations,” he said while addressing the plenary session of the ‘International Solar Alliance (ISA) Founding Conference’ at The Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre here this morning.

Mentioning that Bangladesh always has joined all global initiatives, the President sought all-out support and solidarity from the ISA member states to unlock a new dimension in all areas of renewable energy as well as solar energy from its use to research, development and transferring technology for its capacity building.

Noting that the global warming and its subsequent effects on many countries are a reality now and Bangladesh is one of the most affected countries of it, the President said the country is trying to put its best efforts to make a fair contribution to fight this challenge.

Abdul Hamid said “Although our share in emitting greenhouse gas is 0.1%, the threats of natural disasters including sea level rise, droughts, floods and cyclones to Bangladesh are abundant. We are also taking steps to reduce emission of greenhouse gas in future as the development of renewable energy is desired for the developing countries.”

He also put emphasis on investing in renewable energy for improving energy access to rural and underprivileged people as well as the safety of this planet.

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Clean energy is essential for overall development recognized in SDG-7 (sustainable development goals) for ensuring everyone’s access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, Abdul Hamid added.

The President laid stress on taking well-coordinated and bold policy commitments and much investment to get the desired benefits in days to come.

Referring to different pragmatic steps taken by the Bangladesh government to enhance the uses of renewable energy, the President said Bangladesh has installed around 5 million Solar Home Systems serving around 20 million people of the country.

“The government has also initiated a programme to generate 500 MW of solar-based electricity for adding those to the national grid,” he added.

“Enhancing used of solar power based Improved Cook Stove in rural areas has significantly reduced emission of green house gas, increasing energy efficiency. We see similar potential in solar-powered irrigation pumps.

Our Renewable Energy Policy’s principle is that 10% of our total electricity will be generated from renewable sources by 2021,” the President pointed out.

The New Delhi solar summit drew heads of state and government of 24
countries and vice-presidents, ministers and representatives from as many as 47 countries out of its 121 member states across the world.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately gave their inaugural addresses, while Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gave her welcome speeches in the conference.

On November 30, 2015, India and France, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, had launched an International Solar Alliance (ISA) to promote solar energy in developing countries.

The ISA is the first treaty-based international and inter-governmental organisation to be headquartered in India. ISA secretariat is located in Delhi’s neighbouring town of Gurgugram in the state of Haryana.

The ISA initiative was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris by Indian Prime Minister Modi and French President Francois Hollande with an aim to increase the use of solar energy to reduce pressure on fossil fuels.

The ISA is conceived as a coalition of solar resource rich countries to meet their special energy needs and cooperate on addressing the identified gaps through making a common, agreed approach.

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