DHAKA, Oct 30, 2023 (BSS) - Planning Minister MA Mannan today said that
Bangladesh has made some impressive progress in green development.

"Bangladesh has made some impressive progress in green development. For
example, our garments sector ranks among the world's best on the number of
green factories," he said.

The Planning Minister was addressing the inaugural session of a two-day 12th
South Asia Economic Policy Network Conference on Green Growth in South Asia
as the chief guest jointly organised by the World Bank and the BRAC Institute
of Governance and Development (BIGD) held at a city hotel.

Mannan said: "We must continue on the path outlined in Bangladesh's Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Master Plan, which includes a series of
programmes that aim to help large industrial energy consumers, residential
consumers, buildings, private companies and government agencies move toward
energy efficiency."

The World Bank in its latest regional economic update said despite solid
growth, South Asia faces a risky outlook. The lending agency also urged
countries to fully capitalize on the global energy transition to help boost
growth.

Toward Faster, Cleaner Growth is the subject of a two-day conference
organised by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) and the
World Bank. The conference is a platform for academics, experts and
researchers to discuss the opportunities and challenges the region faces in
pursuing green growth.

The Washington-based lending agency said constrained by slowing growth and
fiscal challenges, South Asia's governments have limited room to help their
economies make the most of the global energy transition.
 
The global energy transition presents an opportunity to boost productivity
and investment, create jobs, cut air pollution, and reduce reliance on fuel
imports.

The World Bank said even with limited fiscal space, countries can encourage
firms to adopt more energy-efficient technologies through market-based
regulations, information campaigns, broader access to finance, and the
provision of reliable power grids.

Improvements in energy efficiency could accelerate progress toward both
economic and environmental goals in South Asia. The region uses twice as much
as energy as the global average to produce each unit of output.
 
While South Asian firms are enthusiastic adopters of basic energy-efficient
technologies, they lag in the adoption of more advanced technologies.

"Bangladesh is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change," said
Abdoulaye Seck, WB Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
 
"And as the intensity and frequency of natural disasters increase, Bangladesh
must do more to tackle the environment and climate risks and sustain its
strong growth performance. Green growth can help Bangladesh build long-term
resilience against climate risks while help to attain its vision of becoming
an upper-middle-income country," he added.

The energy transition will reshape South Asia's labor markets. Almost one-
tenth of the region's workers are employed in pollution-intensive jobs. These
jobs are concentrated among lower-skilled and informal workers who may
struggle to adjust to job or income losses.
 
While the energy transition can help create new jobs, it could also leave
some workers stranded in declining industries.
 
The report recommends a wide range of policies to protect such workers,
including providing better access to high-quality education and training,
finance, and markets, facilitating worker mobility, and strengthening social
safety nets.

"In this conference, we'll truly emphasize the agenda of green growth and
delve deeply into the choices we can make and how we can deliver on this
agenda," said Imran Matin, BIGD executive director.
 
"In South Asia, given the salience of our population and demographics, green
growth agenda is not only a topic of central importance, but also a place to
foster central innovation, and that's what we're looking forward to. The
green growth agenda cannot be advanced without really thinking about how it
delivers on growth and the importance of interdisciplinary approach is key to
understanding the green growth," he added.