EU wants Bangladesh enhance renewable energy use by over 3%

The European Union (EU) today expected Bangladesh to enhance its renewable energy use by over 3 percent through restructuring the South Asian nation’s energy sector alongside pursuing political stability through democratic elections.

“We expect Bangladesh to increase its renewable energy use by more than 3%, reform its energy structure, and pursue political stability through democratic elections,” a senior EU official at its Dhaka office said.

Joining the opening of a renewable energy festival, EU’s head of development cooperation and minister counselor in Dhaka Dr Michal Krejza said the European Union earlier pledged Bangladesh to provide EUR 1.3 billion for its green energy transition.

The EU earlier offered the amount in the form of grant and loans for its overall ongoing and planned projects under a platform called Team Europe Initiative Green Energy Transition (TEI GET) in Bangladesh, co-chaired by the European Union and Germany.

According to EU officials the initiative was being supported by countries including France, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

They said the initiative  aimed to support Bangladesh to have in place a power system that leads to maximum coverage of the country`s energy demand through renewable energy alongside reducing demand through energy efficiency.

Krejza emphasised the importance of regional energy connectivity for expanding renewable energy.

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) hosts the two-day Renewable Energy Fest 2025 expecting to shape a roadmap for a just and green energy transition through policy reform.

The organizers said the festival made a renewed commitment to achieve 15 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050 and called for inclusive, cost-effective and citizen-centred energy solutions.

BUET stages the event jointly with ActionAid Bangladesh, and Just Energy Transition Network Bangladesh (JETnet-BD) while the university’s vice chancellor Professor Dr Abu Borhan Mohammad Badruzzaman delivered the inaugural speech.
City Bank PLC’s additional managing director M Mahbubur Rahman and Infrastructure Development Company Limited’s (IDCOL) chief executive officer among others joined the programme.

The IDCOL chief called the tax factor as a major barrier for promoting renewable energy saying “without reducing taxes and interest rates, expanding renewable energy is impossible”.

“We must enact structural reforms and secure low-interest financing to ensure fair benefits,” he said.

The festival’s first-day events included a special session on Energy Awakening, chaired by ActionAid Bangladesh’s country director Farah Kabir, who highlighted urgency of expanded renewable energy to meet Bangladesh’s projected electricity demand of 58,410 MW by 2041.

“Expanding renewable energy sources is now imperative,” she said.