Category: Energy and Power

The increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere last year was the highest ever recorded, the United Nations said recently, calling for urgent action to slash emissions. Levels of the three main greenhouse gases – the climate-warming CO2, methane and nitrous oxide — all increased yet again in 2024, with each setting new record highs, the UN’s weather and climate agency said.

The World Meteorological Organization said the increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere from 2023 to 2024 marked the biggest oneyear jump since records began in 1957.

The report, which comes ahead of the November 10-21 COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, focused exclusively on concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

A separate UN report, out next month, will detail shifts in emissions of the gases, but those numbers are also expected to rise, as they have every year with the world continuing to burn more oil, gas and coal.

This defies commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement to cap global warming at ‘well below’ 2C above average levels measured between 1850 and 1900 — and 1.5C if possible.

Investing in climate adaptation and resilience is not a cost; it is a powerful economic strategy that can generate trillions in global economic gains, create millions of jobs, and safeguard vulnerable countries like Bangladesh, according to a report released recently.

The report, ‘Returns on Resilience: Investing in Adaptation to Drive Prosperity, Growth and Competitiveness, was unveiled by a consortium of 20 organizations led by the international group Systemiq during the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C.

It finds that every dollar invested in adaptation can yield returns equivalent to ten dollars. For countries like Bangladesh, strategic investment in climate resilience and adaptation now could protect the economy from future losses.

The analysis estimates that climate resilience investment could create 28 million new jobs across developing countries by 2035.

At the same time, the global adaptation market is projected to reach $1.3 trillion annually by 2030. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, ‘Investing in climate resilience means protecting people and their livelihoods in the face of storms, heatwaves, and floods.

It is also an urgent economic imperative: building resilience ensures that hardwon development gains are not destroyed.

This is a call to world leaders to make resilience and adaptation the investment agenda of our time.’

An inception workshop on the research project titled ‘Strengthening Advanced Education and Research on Farming System Dynamism and Climate Resilience Towards Sustainable and Improved Farm Productivity’ was held at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) on 11 October 2025. Department of Agronomy organized the event at conference hall of the Faculty of Agriculture, under the Academic Transformation Fund (ATF) of the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) Project, supported by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh.

BAU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr.

A.K. Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan attended the workshop as chief guest, which was chaired by Prof. Dr.

Ahmed Khairul Hasan, head, Department of Agronomy. Dr. Dia Sanou, deputy FAO representative in Bangladesh; Prof. Dr. G.M. Mujibar Rahman, dean, Faculty of Agriculture; and Prof. Dr. Mohammad Musharraf Uddin Bhuiyan, director, planning and development and head, ATF Secretariat, were present as special guests.

EU leaders launched a final sprint recently to agree on a 10-year target to cut carbon emissions ahead of a key UN climate conference, laying out conditions including leaving the door open to future revisions.

The heads of the European Union’s 27 states held talks in Brussels to chart a way forward between competing goals: to support the bloc’s ailing businesses including its cherished car industry, and to play a lead role in the climate fight.

The gathering came with the EU under pressure to agree on their next big emissions target ahead of the United Nations COP30 climate summit which starts in Brazil on November 10. No final decision was reached – and none was expected – but the discussions should provide fodder for a deal within two weeks. ‘We reaffirmed our commitment to the Paris Agreement and also agreed that we need to be pragmatic and flexible in our strategy,’ European Council President Antonio Costa told a press conference, referring to a 2015 UN climate deal.

The meeting, paired with an earlier letter to leaders by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen outlining planned reforms, ‘helped create the right conditions’ for a 2040 EU target to be agreed on, Costa added.

The promise of limiting global warming to 1.5°C once united the nations from across the world under a common cause.

Today, it stands as a symbol of global paralysis. Wars, trade rivalries, and political posturing have pushed climate action to the margins.

As the world gathers in Belém for COP30, the gap between rhetoric and reality has never been wider. Developed nations are investing billions in military buildup and fossil fuel subsidies, while financing for climate adaptation and clean energy remains trapped in negotiations.

The Global South, already suffering from floods, droughts, and rising seas, continues to wait for commitments that never materialize. Despite ambitious pledges under the Paris Agreement, major emitters like the United States, China, and the European Union have yet to submit updated targets-signaling how easily politics can overshadow science.

The 1.5°C goal was never just a number; it was a lifeline. Missing it means crossing into a world of irreversible damage, where adaptation will be costly and survival uneven. Yet, the world seems content to treat it as a diplomatic slogan rather than an existential threshold. Keeping the 1.5°C goal alive now depends less on technology and more on political courage. Leaders must confront the uncomfortable truth: every delay deepens inequality and raises the price of inaction. COP30 offers another chance-not to talk about ambition, but to act on it.

The world cannot afford for the politics behind 1.5°C to keep defining its fate.

Putting emphasis on launching a new kind of business- social business, business without personal profit, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus recently said that building a world with ‘three-zeros’ is not a dream but a necessity to save the world. ‘Ultimate objective is to create a ‘Three-Zero World’: A World with Zero Wealth Concentration to end Poverty, Zero Unemployment, by replacing it with entrepreneurship for all and Zero Net Carbon.

This is not a dream.

It is a necessity, the only way to save the world,’ he said.

The Chief Adviser made the remarks while presenting a keynote speech at the grand opening of the World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event 2025 at Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, Italy, this afternoon (Rome Time).

At the event, the Chief Adviser placed six proposals calling for a complete transformation of the global food and economic systems to end hunger, saying that hunger is caused by the failure of the existing economic framework.

The Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs has recommended for approving two major proposals in principle including the import of refined fuel oil through a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement for the 2026 calendar year and the procurement of e-passport materials under the Home Ministry.

The approvals came from the 34th meeting of the Economic Affairs committee in this year held recently chaired virtually by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed. Under the first proposal, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division sought policy approval for the purchase and import of refined fuel oil under the direct purchase method through G2G arrangements for the period of January to December 2026.

After reviewing the submission, the committee recommended the proposal in principle recognizing the importance of ensuring a stable supply of fuel oil to meet the country’s energy demands.

V i e t n a m e s e Minister of Industry and Trade Nguy?n H?ng Diên and S i n g a p o r e a n Minister-inCharge of Energy, and Science and Technology in the Ministry of Trade and Industry Tan See Leng have agreed to continue close coordination in implementing key areas of cooperation, particularly in energy, industry, trade, and science and technology.

The two ministers held talks in Hà N?i on October 10 as part of Tan’s trip to attend the 19th Vi?t Nam-Singapore Connectivity Ministerial Meeting.

They noted that bilateral economic and trade relations have continued to develop substantively and comprehensively, forming a key pillar of the Vi?t Nam-Singapore bilateral relationship.

A major focus of the meeting was the proposed renewable energy export project from Vietnam to Singapore.

Both sides discussed options for direct transmission between the two countries as well as indirect connections through a third country. Diên underlined the project’s strategic significance, not only for the bilateral ties but also for the formation of an integrated ASEAN power grid.

Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan recently said the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) must be kept under control to tackle the country’s short-term energy crisis, stressing that consumers will not benefit properly unless the price of a 12kg LPG cylinder comes down below Tk 1,000.

Speaking at a policy conclave titled ‘LPG in Bangladesh: Economy, Environment and Safety’ held at a city hotel, the adviser said the current market price of a 12kg cylinder – over Tk 1,200 – is depriving both industrial and household users of fair benefits.

Expressing frustration, he said, ‘Traders are selling LPG cylinders worth Tk 1,200 at Tk 1,400 – they must take responsibility for this. Reckless business practices cannot continue.’ He warned that mobile courts would be deployed to curb overpricing in the LPG market.

The adviser accused a section of politicians and their business allies of deliberately creating an artificial energy crisis.

Summit Power reported a whopping 88 per cent yearon-year decline in profit to Tk 0.41 billion in FY25 due to the shutdown of nearly half of its plants and an impairment loss of Tk 1.52 billion shown in its financial statements.

As the government has shifted its power policy towards renewable energy and has become increasingly cautious about purchasing electricity from private producers to cut costs, companies like Summit Power are taking a major hit.

Around 77 per cent of Summit’s plants run on heavy fuel oil (HFO), making them vulnerable to falling demand from the government.

Summit Power’s earnings plunged to Tk 0.38 per share in FY25 from Tk 3.13 per share the year before.