Chattogram on the verge of a carbon catastrophe

The Chattogram region, which hosts two-thirds of the country’s entire proposed power plant projects, is within an ace of facing a severe environmental disaster soon owing to the massive amount of carbon emission from these fossil-fuel based plants.

The increasing level of fossil fuel growth in the proposed 20GW powerplant projects around the region could emit nearly 1.38 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment in their entire life span, says a report by Australia-based market research company Market Forces.

This is five times higher than the existing carbon emission status of the country, added the report, which is titled “A carbon catastrophe in the making: The dirty energy plans in Chattogram”.

The report was presented on Monday in a press conference, jointly organized by Market Force, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), and Waterkeepers Bangladesh at the National Press Club in Dhaka.

As per the government data, Chattogram region hosts 17 power plants currently –16 of which are Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) based projects whilst the Matarbari-2 is a coal-based power plant.

“I have never seen such a massive level of fossil fuel-based power plant installations in a single region to date. It’s waiting to be the biggest carbon catastrophe in the future,” said Julian Vincent, executive director of Market Forces while presenting the research.

“These foreign companies should stop treating Bangladesh as one of their dumping grounds for outdated, hazardous technologies. They should instead help the country to meet its new power needs through clean, affordable, and climate-friendly technologies,” said the Market Forces official.

According to the report, the massive expansion of fossil fuel-based plants would be predominantly financed by numerous foreign companies from Japan and the United States including Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, JERA, and the US’s SMBC Group.

Among the 16 plants, Matarbari 2 can bring the most catastrophic outcome, the report stated. If built, the air pollution caused by the carbon emissions from the Matarbari 1 and 2 plants would result in an estimated 6,700 premature deaths throughout their operational years, it stated.

This project also contradicts Japan’s 2021 G7 commitment to halt overseas coal financing in a bid to protect the environment.

The report also predicts that the massive construction projects will produce disastrous consequences for the environment and the locals, destroying the natural biodiversity, and ecological balance. It will also create severe health risks for the people residing nearby these plants.

According to the report, the proposed plans for the LNG-based plants will cost $960 million per gigawatt by 2030, reaching close to $18 billion for Chattogram alone, which is six times more than Bangladesh’s 2022 budget to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.