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CLIMATE PARLIAMENT
www.climateparl.net
June 2015
Parliamentary Action on
Combating Climate Change Bangladesh Newsletter
C L I M A T E P A R L I A M E N T : I N T R O D U C T I O N
The Climate Parliament is an International cross-party network of legislators, dedicated to
preventing climate change and promoting renewable energy. We support parliamentarians to
undertake initiatives at national and regional levels to help accelerate the global renewable
switch at the speed and scale required. The Climate Parliament has been supporting MPs in
their work on renewable energy for over five years, and has established a network of legislators
from across Asia, Africa and Europe, all dedicated to effecting the renewables transition.
C L I M A T E P A R L I A M E N T B A N G L A D E S H
In September 2012, Members of Parliament, from different political parties formed a Climate
Parliament Group in their Parliament. They decided to take up various parliamentary actions
headed by TANVIR SHAKIL JOY MP as Convener and JUNAID AHMED PALAK MP as co-convener
to scale up contributions of renewable energy for electricity production and to create an
enabling environment and policy, finance and technology support, to encourage the use of
renewables. It was agreed that a key work effort should center on addressing the non-
implementation of the SREDA BILL which later on was passed in the parliament on December
2012. In 2014 the Climate Parliament committee was reconstituted with NAHIM RAZZAQ MP as
Convener along with MAHJABEEN MORSHED MP as Co-convener along with some the young
and dynamic MPs as member of the committee.
Issues raised by Climate Parliament MPs:
Immediate formulation and budgetary allocation of SREDA: The immediate implementation of the SREDA Act and SREDA to be established formally. Sufficient Annual budget for empowering SREDA is a must.
Proper Administrative, infrastructural and logistical support to SREDA: SREDA will co-ordinate between different Government Agencies and regulators. The authority will be the face of Bangladesh in the global renewable energy domain. Therefore, strong logistical, managerial and infrastructural support should be provided to SREDA.
Formulation of Renewable Energy Fund: Large scale Renewable energy development can be capital intensive. To ensure a sustainable flow of funds into the sector, establishment of a Fund can assure long term growth.
Revision of the Renewable Energy Policy of Bangladesh:
With the new developments of renewable energy
technologies globally and new energy imperatives of the
country, it is necessary for reviewing the 7 year old policy
on renewable energy.
Increase private sector participation: To bring down the
costs of renewable energy and to achieve scale, private
sector participation in the sector needs to be boosted
through policy measures.
Key Successes:
In Bangladesh, Climate Parliament group of MPs have
played a major role in the passage of the Sustainable and
Renewable Energy Development Agency (SREDA) Act in
2012.After repeated meetings between MPs,
Government officials and Minister, Climate Parliament
group of MPs achieved a milestone in their efforts to
create a SPECIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND in the
Country of Taka TK 400 crore from the national budget
2014-15 and implementation of SREDA was finally
realised.
Bangladesh Steering Committee
Advisors:
Mr. Tanvir Shakeel Joy
Mr. Saber Chowdhury MP
Patrons:
Mr. Junaid Ahmed Palak MP
Mr. Abdullah Al-Islam Jacob MP
Convener:
Mr. Nahim Razzaq MP
Co-convenor:
Ms. Mahjabeen Moshad MP
Members:
Mr. Razee Md. Fakhrul MP
Mr. Pir Fazlur Rahman MP
Mr. Golam Faruk Prince MP
Mr. AKM Ahasanul Chowdhury MP
Mr. Tarana Halim MP
Ms. Mahjabeen Khaled MP
Ms. Waseqa Ayesha Khan MP
GLIMPSES OF PARLIAMENTARIANS AT WORK IN BANGLADESH
4th July 2013: Roundtable discussion on SREDA Act
It took more than a year of various parliamentary actions–meetings with the Power Minister,
Memorandums to the Finance Minister, Memorandum and interventions in the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Energy, Round-Table discussions with government officials, experts and
MPs – which have finally now ensured the actual establishment of SREDA and separate
Renewable Energy Fund in the country.
Climate Parliament Initiatives for implementation of Renewable Energy Fund and SREDA:
Climate Parliament Bangladesh carried out a strong campaign for adequate budgetary
allocation for SREDA and establishment of the Renewable Energy Fund before the budget of
2014-15. The campaign proved successful when Budget of 2014-15 announced, "To produce
800 MW of electricity by 2015 using renewable energy, a Special Fund under the name
“RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND” has been kept in the budget to finance renewable energy based
power plants or projects. The size of the fund allocation was at TK 400 crore with this year's
allocation.
12th September 2012: First meeting of Bangladeshi MPs
Oct, 2013: Bangladesh Steering Committee Meeting
In September 2014, Climate
Parliament Bangladesh organized a
Round table meeting on ‘Renewable
Energy Fund: Planning the Roadmap’
at Bidyut Bhaban, Ministry of Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources. This
meeting was organized to access the
progress and discuss the ways and
means to successfully establish the
Fund and how this fund can be made
effective to accelerate renewable
energy in Bangladesh.
In March 2015, in the pre-budget
meeting with the Bangladesh State
Minister of Power, Energy and
Mineral Resources, the Climate
Parliament Bangladesh group of MPs
also submitted a Memorandum to
the Minister. The Memorandum asks
the government to announce the
establishment of SREDA and
requisite budget allocation after
accounting for adequate
administrative, infrastructural and
logistical support. It asks for the
establishment of a Clean Energy
Fund; announcement of incentives
for domestic RE manufacturers and
suppliers.
In May 2015, Climate Parliament
Bangladesh met the Ministry of
Finance officials and SREDA officials
to initiate a dialogue on transfer
and utilization of renewable energy
fund to SREDA. It was also
requested to continue with the
Renewable Energy Fund in the next
financial year for enabling the
implementation of the planned
projects.
Coordinating meetings with the Hon. State Minister
of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Nasrul
Hamid MP
Bangladesh Renewable Energy Roadmap – Climate Parliament Initiative
Climate Parliament Bangladesh MPs initiated a study to formulate the Renewable Energy
Roadmap of Bangladesh with the help of an international expert Dr. Rudolf Reichsteiner. Mr.
Rudolf Rechsteiner, an international renewable energy expert and a five-time MP in
Switzerland, is one of the leading co-authors of the Swiss Electric Power Act in 2008 and of the
Renewable Energy Law in Switzerland. In a study visit to Dhaka, Mr.Rechsteiner carried out a a
series of consultations and meetings with Ministers, MPs, government officials, financial
institutions, experts, international organizations, private sector, organized recently by Climate
Parliament from 3rd to 7th May 2015.
Policy Maker’s Roundtable Meeting (SREDA, POWER CELL and Finance Ministry). 4th May 2015, SREDA office, Bidyut Bhaban. Senior Government officials from SREDA, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Finance along with Climate Parliament MPs and staff came together for this meeting. After a presentation by SREDA and subsequently by Mr. Rudolf Rechsteiner and Climate Parliament staff, deliberations on the policy approach, implementation issues and financing challenges were carried out. The meeting was also successful in increasing the co-ordination between Ministry of Finance and SREDA officials. Both the parties agreed to meet and discuss the future course of action for continuation and enhancement of the Renewable Energy Fund in Bangladesh.
Renewable Energy Stakeholder consultations
held in Dhaka on the 3rd May 2015
Stakeholder Roundtable on Renewable Energy Roadmaps, 3rd May 2015. Attended by 15 senior officials from the several leading organizations in renewable energy like Rahimafrooz, Prokaushali Sangsad Ltd, Dhaka University, BUET, Bangladesh Renewable EnergyAssociation, Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB), Schneider Electric, Clean Energy Alternatives etc. The intense discussions of two hours yielded some key policy gaps across the valuechain of Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector. The discussions were divided into three segments ofOff- grid and mini-grid segment, Medium and commercial plants segment and lastly, large scale gridconnected power generation system.
Coordination meeting with SREDA, POWER CELL and Ministry of Finance (Budget Division)
Ministerial meetings with Mr. Nasrul Hamid and Mr. Junaid Ahmed Palak, 4th May 2015:
Individual meetings with the State Minister of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Mr. Nasrul Hamid and Minister of State, ICT Mr. Junaid Ahmed Palak were carried out to get a sense of the broader pictureand policy directions being considered at present. Hon. Junaid Ahmed Palak is also the Patron of theClimate Parliament network in Bangladesh. Public Consultation on Introduction of Feed-in-Tariffs organized by Dhaka University, May 2015: Public Consultation on Introduction of Feed-in-Tariffs the Climate Parliament Team, along with Mr. Rudolf Rechsteiner, also participated in an open discussion on FiT regulation organized by the University of Dhaka. The event gave further insight into the opinion of all major stakeholders on the introduction of a new revenue model for large scale renewable energyprojects in Bangladesh. Individual meetings, 5-7 May 2015: Several individual meetings were held with, renewable energy entrepreneurs, financing organizations like IDCOL and multilateral development organizations like UNDP, SDC, GIZ, etc.
Climate Parliament team with Ms. Farzana Rahman, Unit Head (Investment), Renewable Energy, IDCOL
Category Achievement
Solar Home System (3.4 m SHS) 145 MW
Other Solar PV Applications 1 MW
Roof-top Solar PV Systems 10 MW
Solar Irrigation ( 128 systems) 5 MW
Wind Energy 2 MW
Biomass based electricity 1 MW
Biogas based electricity 5MW
Total 169MW
Hydro Power 230 MW
Total 399 MW
• Almost 3.4 million SHSs installed; over 70,000/month • 35,000 biogas digesters built • 69 solar irrigation and 135 solar drinking water pumps in operation, 191 approved, 236 is
in process of approval, total 1,500 targeted • 5 million cooking stoves targeted by 2017
Solar Home System depiction
Major Achievements in Rural Energy Supply
Source: Power Cell, 2014.
At the initiative of Climate Parliament MPs from Bangladesh, Climate Parliament Group of MPs came out with a ‘South Asian MPs declaration, Colombo, 17 November 2012’, for the development of a regional grid in South Asia – a transmission network that could link wind, solar, hydro and other renewable energy sources, and create a mechanism for energy trading between the regional neighbours to promote reliable and sustainable energy for all.
C L I M A T E P A R L I A M E N T I N T E R N A T I O N A L :
Climate Parliament organises international meetings, hearings and forums for parliamentarians from around the world. The purpose of these events is to promote global initiatives to push for transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Climate Parliament has an active set of members in Bangladesh, India, Tunisia, China, Jordan, Morocco, Congo, Lebanon, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. Glimpses of Climate Parliament Bangladesh MPs participating in national, regional and international meetings on renewable energy:
Bangladesh MPs attending Parliamentary Hearing at Wadduwa, Sri Lanka, 16-18 Nov, ‘12
Bangladesh MPs sign Statement at El Jadida, Morocco, 4-6 Oct, 2013;
“Attracting Investment in Reneawable Energy”
Attending International Parliamentary FORUM, PREVENTING A CLIMATE CRISIS
Shanghai, China, 11-12 July, 2014
Bangladesh MPs attending Parliamentary Action on Renewable Energy – Learning from
Success, Dead Sea, 7-8 Nov, 2014
International Energy & Climate Forum, Lucerne, Switzerland, June 12-14, 2015
Morocco: A commitment from the Energy Minister was secured for looking into setting up a dedicated national regulatory agency for renewable electricity and to work collaboratively with the cross-party group during 2014 on this issue. There was a reduction in VAT charged on imports of solar panels and renewable energy equipment from 20% to 13%. Another achievement was a reduction in the fossil fuels subsidy and the cross party group of MPs also succeeded in securing increased financing for applied research projects in renewable energy. Tunisia: The passing in January 2014 of the amendment to the new constitution proposed by the Climate Parliament cross-party group of MPs must stand as one of the most impressive achievements. Tunisia has become the first country outside of Latin America to make a constitutional commitment to combating climate change. A second major achievement in Tunisia has been the passing in Parliament of a Renewable Energy bill. Senegal: Renewable Energy Law was passed in 2012, which foresees raising awareness of all of the Senegalese population, as well as setting targets for renewable energy use in households, including targets related to energy provision for women and for public lighting.
Jordan: Aggressive strategy has been undertaken by the MPs from the Jordanian Parliament to utilise their desert as the next source of energy and reduce the dependency of import of fossil fuel from their neighbouring countries.
Although making the transition to renewable energy will not be easy, parliamentarians are in a unique position to take action. All that is required is understanding, personal commitment, and political will.
The Doha Forum also saw the launch of a new joint initiative for 2013: the Renewable Tigers project. Organised by UNDP and Climate Parliament, the initiative will focus on how developing nations can work together to harness the potential of renewable energy to drive development while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. The underlying idea of the Renewable Tigers strategy is simple: that a group of ten countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia could work together to turn clean energy into an engine of economic growth. These ten countries are Bangladesh, Congo Brazzaville, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia. We believe these countries have the potential to become “Renewable Tigers”, doing in renewable energy what the Asian Tigers did in manufacturing industries and socio-economic development.
The rich resources of sun, biomass, wind and hydro available in these ten countries can be harnessed to drive forward development. Energy generated from the abundant sunshine and wind of the developing world could power towns and cities, drive village-level renewable mini-grids for those in energy-starved rural areas, or even be exported to neighbouring countries via cross-border interconnectors. Investment in renewables would thus help to drive growth, create jobs, and grow new industries. By working together, the ten nations can share best practices; encourage regional energy integration; develop renewable manufacturing, research and development; and gain collective bargaining power.
The Renewable Tigers
Some of the Events Publication by CLIMATE PARLIAMENT: www.climateparl.net