Bangladesh is among the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters, and these are worsening due to climate change, Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank (WB) Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, has said.
“Moving toward green growth can help Bangladesh build long-term resilience against climate risks while also promoting the income growth that fuels development,” he said.
He made the remarks at a conference, titled “Toward Faster, Cleaner Growth”, organised by BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) and the World Bank at the Renaissance hotel in Dhaka on Monday.
The WB in its latest regional economic update has said that “despite solid growth, South Asia faces a risky outlook”, and urged countries to fully capitalise on the global energy transition to help boost growth.
The global energy transition presents an opportunity to boost productivity and investment, create jobs, cut air pollution, and reduce reliance on fuel imports, it said.
Unfortunately, constrained by slowing growth and fiscal challenges, the governments in South Asia have limited room to help their economies make the most of this transition.
However, even with limited fiscal space, countries can encourage firms to adopt more energy-efficient technologies through market-based regulations, information campaigns, broader access to finance, and the provision of reliable power grids, it added.
Improvements in energy efficiency could accelerate progress toward both economic and environmental goals in South Asia. The region uses twice as much energy as the global average to produce each unit of output.
While South Asian firms are enthusiastic adopters of basic energy-efficient technologies, they lag in the adoption of more advanced technologies. Thus, such government initiatives can incentivise them to make the best out of the energy transition.
Experts say that the energy transition will reshape South Asia’s labour markets. Almost one-tenth of the region’s workers are employed in pollution-intensive jobs, which are concentrated among lower-skilled and informal workers who may struggle to adjust to job or income losses.
While the energy transition can help create new jobs, it could also leave some workers stranded in declining industries. The report recommends a wide range of policies to protect such workers, including providing better access to high-quality education and training, finance, and markets; facilitating worker mobility; and strengthening social safety nets.
“In this [two-day] conference, we will truly emphasise the agenda of green growth and delve deeply into the choices we can make and how we can deliver on this agenda.” said BIGD Executive Director Imran Matin.
“In South Asia, given the salience of our population and demographics, green growth agenda is not only a topic of central importance, but also a place to foster central innovation, and that’s what we are looking forward to.
“The green growth agenda cannot be advanced without really thinking about how it delivers on growth and the importance of interdisciplinary approach is key to understanding green growth,” he added.
Attending as chief guest at the opening session, Planning Minister MA Mannan said, “Bangladesh has made some impressive progress in green development. For example, our garments sector ranks among the world’s best on the number of green factories.”
“We must continue on the path outlined in Bangladesh’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Master Plan, which includes a series of programmes that aim to help large industrial energy consumers, residential consumers, buildings, private companies, and government agencies move toward energy efficiency,” he added.
Opening day on Monday, the conference is a platform for academics, experts, and researchers to discuss the opportunities and challenges the region faces in pursuing green growth.
