In his opinion column “Development is just another word,” Gana Sanghati Andolon member Irfanur Rahman Rafin responds to my comments about Bangladesh’s development and energy.
The Bangladesh Priorities project was designed to boost the vigorous discussion about the nation’s policy options, and in this respect, Mr Rafin’s contribution is very welcome.
However, I take issue with his suggestion that this project works “in service of transnational capital.”
The project has placed in the public domain, for free, a wealth of new research papers on Bangladesh’s policy choices.
Mr Rafin is very wrong to suggest that the research focuses on profits.
The research by Copenhagen Consensus looks at benefits to society -- economic, social, and environmental.
Tuberculosis interventions were found, by an eminent panel of Bangladeshi thought-leaders and a Nobel laureate economist, to be a top priority for Bangladesh.
This is not because of profit, but because investment would generate an amazing social achievement.
I would agree that there are costs to coal use. But we also need to be honest that there are benefits too. It is important to acknowledge that all choices come with trade-offs
Providing buses for Dhaka and responding to indoor air pollution are similarly important, in no small part because they would create environmental gains.
In regards to my comments about coal, I would agree with Mr Rafin that there are costs to coal use, both directly and through the environment.
I have clearly pointed these out.
But we also need to be honest that there are benefits too.
It is important to acknowledge that all choices come with trade-offs.
The models, developed at the University of California, Berkeley, show that boosting coal would cost Tk78,300crore, and lead to climate costs of Tk4620cr.
The benefits from the investment, however, would be astonishing.
The economy would grow faster. The net worth for Bangladesh over the next 15 years would be greater than Tk20,00,000cr -- equivalent to more than an entire year of GDP.
By 2030, the average Bangladeshi would be 16% richer. This is important, because the average parent will have more money to feed their children, the poor will have more opportunities for better-paying jobs, and Bangladesh will be further along the road to a middle-income country.
It is important for us to look at both the costs and the benefits, and ask what is best for Bangladesh.
