Environmentalists demand subsidy withdrawal to 'end the era of fossil fuels'

Environmentalists have called for withdrawing subsidies from fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy solutions ahead of the Global Climate Strike to be observed on 19 April by Fridays for Future worldwide.

Fridays for Future is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations, demanding action from political leaders to prevent climate change and urging the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy. Young climate activist Greta Thunberg started the movement in 2018 when she was 15 years old.

As in other countries, the day has also been observed in Bangladesh for the last few years.

According to environmentalists, this urgency stems from the fact that forests and oceans cannot keep pace with the dramatic 50% increase in atmospheric CO2 over the past two centuries, worsening global warming and environmental harm.

Change Initiative, a renewable energy-based research organisation, has demanded that by 2025, G20 countries withdraw at least 50% of subsidies for fossil fuels. These funds should then be diverted as grants to the least developed countries to support their planned adaptations and address the growing losses and damage caused by climate change.

The organisation says over the past two centuries, global carbon dioxide levels have risen by 50%. Forests worldwide can only absorb about 20% of these emissions, with the oceans taking up the majority.

A report by The Guardian reveals a concerning trend: just 100 companies were responsible for 71% of global emissions between 1988 and 2018, with many of them ramping up fossil fuel production even after the Paris Agreement. This highlights the outsized impact a relatively small number of corporations have on the global climate.

Bangladesh has set ambitious targets for renewable energy, aiming to generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2041. However, as of recent data, renewable energy (excluding large hydro) accounts for only about 3.5% of the total installed capacity for electricity (994.87MW), according to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources.

At COP28, leaders of 123 nations, including Bangladesh, promised to double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from about 2% to over 4% by 2030 under the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge. They also committed to prioritising energy efficiency as the "first fuel" in policy, planning, and major investment decisions.

The Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan aims to achieve 30% power from renewable energy by 2030 and 40% by 2041. Bangladesh has planned a total of 4,095MW of renewable energy generation by October 2027, primarily showing an upward trend.

As the world resonates with calls to "End the Era of Fossil Fuels," Bangladesh is not sufficiently poised to address its significant reliance on non-renewable energy sources, particularly fossil fuels, amidst urgent global climate action, said environmentalists.

"Bangladesh provides substantial subsidies for fossil fuels, particularly for natural gas and oil-based power generation, which can contradict its renewable energy targets by lowering the cost competitiveness of renewable energy technologies," M Zakir Hossain Khan, chief executive of Change Initiative and an international climate finance expert, told The Business Standard.

"This indicates a significant gap between policy targets and actual outcomes," he added.

Sohanur Rahman, a Bangladeshi activist and executive coordinator at YouthNet for Climate Justice, told TBS, "This year, youth climate activists in Bangladesh are calling for a revision of the Integrated Energy Master Plan towards a renewable energy-based master plan."

According to the World Bank, Bangladesh emits only 0.40% of the world's total greenhouse gases but is one of the top ten countries most affected by climate change.

Bangladesh reiterated at the Glasgow Summit 2021 that it will cut carbon emissions by 89.47 million tonnes, equivalent to 21.85% of CO2, by 2030 as part of efforts to participate in global mitigation efforts to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation.

Despite being one of the lowest carbon-emitting countries, Bangladesh grapples with alarming air pollution levels, with fossil fuel-related particulates contributing to a staggering one-third of premature deaths attributed to air pollution.

This grim statistic, revealed in an international study conducted by Harvard University in collaboration with other institutions, underscores the urgency for action.

Among the top 10 countries grappling with the highest rates of fossil fuel-driven air pollution deaths, Bangladesh ranks second, amplifying the need for decisive measures to transition towards cleaner, renewable energy sources.

In fiscal 2021–22, one-third of premature deaths attributed to air pollution in Bangladesh were caused by fossil fuels, with a total of 692,081 people dying of air pollution-related diseases in that year.

The study, based on data dating back to 2012, unveils a stark reality: 252,927 lives were lost in Bangladesh due to fossil fuel particulates in the air. This figure, nearly double the global average, highlights the dire consequences of continued reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation.

The findings of the study, conducted by Harvard University in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester, and University College London, were unveiled in February 2021.