Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s call for environment‑friendly technologies in agriculture and industry is both timely and necessary.
To say that we are already feeling the strain of climate change -- from rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, declining soil fertility, and worsening air and water pollution - would be an understatement.
The message from the PM appears to be clear: If Bangladesh wants sustainable growth, it must modernize how it produces, processes, and consumes.
But as with many national commitments, the challenge is not in the declaration -- it is in the delivery.
We continue to speak about green technology and eco-friendly approaches, yet adoption remains slow and fragmented. In addition, we are yet to see a coordinated national strategy that shows we are serious about taking meaningful action.
This is particularly salient when we look at the PM putting emphasis on producing bricks using environmentally-friendly alternative technologies. This has been a sentiment voiced for years, yet we continue to see illegal brick kilns mushrooming with little to no regulations about their emissions or impact on the environment.
In addition, our agriculture still relies on excessive chemical inputs that degrade soil and contaminate water while our industrial zones continue to operate with outdated machinery wasting energy and releasing harmful emissions.
If the PM’s words are to carry weight, Bangladesh must move beyond symbolic commitments and take concrete steps.
Enforcing environmental compliance in factories, modernizing brick kilns, and expanding renewable energy infrastructure are just some of the steps that must be taken.
It also means supporting research, innovation, and local manufacturing of green technologies so that sustainability is not imported but built at home.
Cleaner technology can no longer be seen as a luxury for Bangladesh but rather as a survival strategy. We cannot make meaningful growth if we continue the way we have.
