Bangladesh: Transforming Lives through a Green Lens

In contrast to the doom and gloom that has characterised my past Blogs - and the majority of reports concerning Bangladesh - I wish to draw your attention to Bangladesh’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions and the solar energy revolution which has received a lack of what Shahan (2014) calls ‘cyber ink’.

Due to its location, Bangladesh receives very good solar radiation all year round, rendering it ideal for the development of solar energy, converting ‘sunlight into direct current electricity’ efficiently (Modal & Islam, 2011).

Although having faced a ‘severe power crisis’ for over a decade – relying heavily on natural gas reserves which have a predicted longevity of just over 15 years! – It is in fact the DISTRIBUTION of energy which is considered the “weakest link” in the country (Sarker et al., 2003).

Here, I wish to applaud solar energy in Bangladesh as not only an environmentally beneficial switch – reducing GHG emissions - but one that simultaneously promotes equality, lighting rural Bangladesh through ‘solar home systems (SHSs)’ (Mondal & Islam, 2011).

Graph showing the annual installation of Solar Home Systems in Bangladesh

According to The World Bank (2015), ‘rural electrification’ has had a life-changing effect on rural populations, creating new social and economic opportunities including ’70,000 direct jobs’ (Sarkar et al., 2003).

 Above and Below Photos of SHS installed in rural Bangladesh homes

We (myself included) take for granted our immediate access to media resources such as the news and weather forecasts – although perhaps those in Cumbria are more attentive at present – however for these rural families it is a luxury with the potential capacity to increase mitigation effectiveness against extreme weather events that these people face on a regular basis (The World Bank, 2014).

However it’s not all praise for Bangladesh.

The Economist (2015) argue that there are more important things Bangladesh should be investing in, arguing that solar panels are ‘no substitute for reliable electrical power’ and that money spent on clean energy over health and sanitation improvements will ultimately make it harder for the world’s poorest to deal with climate change.

Although I believe adequate health and sanitation is a basic human right and should be invested in, in light of COP21 and the importance of pursuing sustainable development, I disagree with The Economist (2015).

The country-wide implementation of solar energy is a crucial step towards “greening” Bangladesh’s energy mix and is a development which I believe generates an optimistic outlook towards achieving the maximum 2°C global warming.