Towards energy sustainability: Bangladesh perspectives

Abstract

Access to power in Bangladesh has significantly increased over the last decade. The creditable achievement of electricity generation capacity addresses the serious energy crisis of the country and aids the rapid growth of industrial and business sector in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has taken numbers of short-term, mid-term and long-term initiates to increase the capacity of electricity generation. A considerable portion of the country's electricity has been generated from the imported fuel. The country's tremendous reliance on imported fuel has ascribed to a fiscal burden, influencing on the country's economic development. The gap for primary fuel supply could make the country's power generation capacity unsustainable if the synchronized policies and strategies will not be taken. There is a high tendency of being used nonrenewable resources which limits their reserve and causes environmental pollution. To achieve the seventh sustainable development goal (SDG) of the United Nations, the availability of green and affordable energy across the country should be ensured. In this review, the major advancement, possibilities and projections in energy sector of Bangladesh were critically assessed. The challenges, opportunities and key indicators for sustainability assessment in energy sector of Bangladesh were reviewed. The dimension of energy diversification and CO2 emission from a variety of energy sources in the country were discussed. The outcome of this review could provide useful information on sustainable development in energy sector of Bangladesh.