With the nation currently undergoing a fuel and energy crisis as a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now is the time that the administration start exploring newer avenues of power generation.
To that end, it is indeed heartening to see the prime minister’s energy advisor, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, echo such a notion in urging officials to work towards building a more diversified energy sector.
While the exploration of more traditional gas fields is all but a given, emphasis needs to be given on considering renewable sources of energy. As things stand, renewable energy makes up a very small part of the entire energy sector of Bangladesh, but given just how fragile the global energy chain has proven itself to be in the last few months -- and concerns about the environment become increasingly harder to ignore -- exploring cleaner and greener sources of energy is now more imperative than ever for Bangladesh.
Green energy sources are not only the sustainable way forward, but they stand to significantly improve the quality of life of Bangladeshis as well. However, we have seen promising steps being taken towards adapting green energy in the past, but we are yet to tap into its potential in any meaningful way.
It is vital, then -- especially under current circumstances -- that the administration focus more of its attention and resources towards renewable energy generation.
Relying on fossil fuels and other legacy sources of energy will become all the more precarious as we move forward into the future. To be prepared for future shocks, investing in more forward-looking energy sources is of the utmost importance for Bangladesh.