Marginalised people yet to get clean energy

A lack of understanding about the best methods for delivering electricity and clean cooking for poor people prevails and many of the most marginalised people are still left behind, according to a new report released by global development charity Practical Action.

The report "Poor People's Energy Outlook (PPEO) 2019" was launched on Monday in the virtual inaugural ceremony of the 20th National Renewable Energy Conference and Green Expo 2020, which stressed on achieving energy access from the village to the nation.

This year, as in previous years, the PPEO is critical reading, providing an important perspective on showing the connections between planning, finance, and delivery.

The report offers a comprehensive framework for a more bottom-up approach to providing energy access. It demonstrates that a range of energy access interventions is needed to achieve SDG7.

Salman F Rahman, private sector industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, emphasised on the government's effort on promoting renewable energy as a major tool to combat climate change and urged to scale up the innovative and adaptive technologies.

"Tackling the energy access challenge, and ensuring it meets the needs of energy-poor communities, will require a holistic effort," said Shawkat A Begum, Bangladesh country director of Practical Action, while discussing the report in detail.

"Countries like Bangladesh that are fear to be amongst the worst affected countries by climate change need to promote green energy strategies to replace the fossil fuel-powered energy."

Akhtaruzzaman, vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, chaired the virtual conference while Atiq Rahman, executive director for Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, presented the keynote.