Published on 01:26 PM, March 11, 2018

Unlock new dynamic in renewable energy, President tells ISA

President Abdul Hamid today said Bangladesh is ready to cooperate with all the International Solar Alliance (ISA) members countries in ensuring affordable, reliable, sustainable energy, and urged all to protect the environment for the benefit of the future generation.

"We look forward to the unlocking of a new dynamic in renewable energy with support from and solidarity among the ISA member countries," he said.

The President Hamid was addressing the plenary session of the ISA Founding Conference and Solar Summit held at Rashtrapathi Bhavan Cultural Centre (RBCC) in New Delhi on Sunday morning.

He said the global warming and its subsequent effects on many countries are a reality now and Bangladesh is one of the worst sufferers.

"Although our share in emitting greenhouse gas is 0.1 percent, threats to Bangladesh are abundant. These include sea level rise, droughts, floods, and cyclones. Bangladesh is nevertheless putting its best efforts to make a fair contribution in fighting this challenge," Hamid said.

He said the development of renewable energy is desirable for the developing countries. "It's not only that investing in renewable energy is an international trend, but it's also from the point of improving energy access for rural and hard to reach people. It's also indispensable for the safety of our planet."

The president said clean energy is critical for the overall development which is recognised in SDG 7- ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for everyone. "Accordingly, the developing countries are seeking to rapidly scale up renewable energy use and this shift to renewable energy is driven by a number of considerations."

He went on saying "We believe that meeting the target of renewable energy and energy efficiency requires well-coordinated and bold policy commitments and high level of financing. The world community has an obligation to play a significant role in this arena."

Mentioning that Bangladesh government has undertaken a number of programmes to enhance the use of renewable energy, Hamid said Bangladesh has installed around 5 million Solar Home Systems serving around 20 million people in addition to initiating a programme to generate 500 MW of solar-based electricity for the national grid.

"Enhanced use of solar power based improved cook stove in rural areas has significantly reduced emission with increased energy efficiency. We see similar potential in solar-powered irrigation pumps. Our Renewable Energy Policy also dictates that 10 percent of our total electricity requires to be generated from renewable sources by 2021," Hamid added.

The president said he is happy that India and France are providing funds to member states for setting up projects on solar energy.

Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gave her welcome remarks, while French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Mod separately delivered their inaugural addresses in the plenary session.

The conference, jointly hosted by India and France, has brought together 121 countries to give a push to solar power generation as well as focuses on various aspects of promoting solar energy in the participating countries associated with the ISA like credit mechanism, crowd funding and sharing of technological breakthroughs.

Heads of state from 23 nations, including Bangladesh, France, Australia and Sri Lanka, joined the conference.

On November 30, 2015, India and France have launched the ISA Alliance to boost solar energy in developing countries.