Dec 8, 2025
| Staff Reporter
Civil society representatives and energy experts emphasised the urgent need for energy self-sufficiency, noting that Bangladesh spends an estimated US$12-13 billion annually on electricity imports.
They made the remarks at the closing session of the Bangladesh Energy Conference 2025 at the Bangladesh Military Museum in the capital on Monday.
Monowar Mostafa, executive member of the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), presented a 13-point citizens’ manifesto for expanding renewable energy.
The manifesto calls on political parties, ahead of the 2026 national parliamentary elections, to make binding commitments on energy security, climate risk mitigation, and economic resilience.
The manifesto calls for a national energy policy that integrates climate, economic, and social goals, phases out fossil fuel subsidies, and sets renewable energy targets of 30% by 2030, 40% by 2041, and 100% by 2050.
It urges stopping new coal, gas, and oil plants, decommissioning inefficient ones, modernising the power grid, expanding household solar programmes, and promoting electric vehicles.
BWGED Secretary Hasan Mehedi said, “Electricity imports are an unsustainable drain on national resources.”
“The country must actively chart pathways to energy self-sufficiency and prioritise renewable energy as a central development strategy,” he added.
Political leaders, including Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal of BNP, Hasnat Qayum of State Reform Movement, and representatives from JASAD, CPB, BASAD, Gonosanghati Andolon, and NCP, were present at the event.
They emphasised transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in energy policy, while calling to reduce import dependency, eliminate corruption, and ensure people-centred planning.
Chairing the session, Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), urged political parties and alliances contesting the 13th National Parliament Election to commit to a green and just energy transition. He emphasised quality investment in renewable energy, transparent public procurement, and active citizen engagement to ensure affordable electricity, energy security, and climate risk mitigation.
News Link: Experts call for energy self-sufficiency