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Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda has met Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka to discuss Bangladesh’s development priorities during a visit that highlighted funding announcements totalling $5 billion.

the ADB said it intends to provide $5 billion over ?ve years for the Integrated Growth Network Development Initiative, presented by Kanda during the visit. Bangladesh is entering a critical new phase, he said, adding that the ADB will help the country protect hard-won stability, unlock new sources of growth and build a more diversi?ed and resilient economy that delivers better jobs and wider opportunity, according to a press release issued on 25 May. During the visit, the lender signed about $1.4 billion in loans as part of the 2026 annual commitment program.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun has said Bangladesh’s ongoing energy crisis remains the biggest barrier to attracting both local and foreign investment. Speaking at a roundtable discussion in Dhaka recently, Ashik warned that investors would remain hesitant unless the country ensures a reliable supply of electricity and gas. ‘Until we solve the energy problem, it will be very dif?cult for local and foreign investors to believe in the Bangladesh growth story,’ he said.

the discussion, titled Trade Policy, Industrial Protection, Investment Impacts, and Consumer Welfare, was organized by the Policy Research Institute with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Of?ce at PRI’s Banani of?ce.

ashik said Bangladesh’s main challenge is not the lack of policy but weak implementation. He pointed to persistent delays in clearing raw materials at Chattogram Port despite existing policies aimed at resolving such problems.

Draft guidelines for onshore wind-power-project development have been unveiled under a government priority as this clean energy remains under explored despite offering a ‘complementary and increasingly cost-competitive pathway’.

until now, the country generates only 62 megawatts of electricity from wind resources out of total 1,774mw power generated from renewable sources, according to Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA).

in the Renewable Energy Policy 2025 the government has set a target of generating 20 per cent of total energy by 2030 and 30 per cent by 2040 from renewable sources. ‘The guideline establishes a clear, transparent, and bankable framework for the development of land-based (onshore) windpower projects,’ SREDA says.

it says Bangladesh possesses modest but commercially viable onshore wind resources, concentrated primarily along its 710-kilometre coastline, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and across selected open plain areas in the north-west. Bangladesh market analysis.

Bangladesh has proposed a longterm governmentto-government (G2G) energy cooperation framework with Angola to diversify crude oil and gas imports beyond the Middle East.

the proposal was discussed during the ?rst high-level virtual energy dialogue between the two countries. Bangladesh also invited an Angolan technical team to Dhaka for further negotiations and expressed readiness to send its own delegation to Luanda. Bangladesh highlighted its rising energy demand and the need for secure supply diversi?cation, while Angola outlined its production capacity of around 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day and plans to expand re?ning and gas infrastructure. Both sides agreed to accelerate a proposed MoU on energy cooperation and strengthen technical-level engagement to develop a structured partnership.

350.org welcomed COP31 PresidentDesignate Murat Kurum’s call to urgently increase the pace of global electri?cation, made at the Copenhagen Climate Ministers’ Meeting recently. Climate campaigners, however, urged governments to heed this call for electri?cation by raising revenues through windfall taxes on fossil fuel pro?ts, accompanied by concrete plans to phase out fossil fuels. Clémence Dubois, 350.org Campaigns Manager, said: ‘There is no doubt that electri?cation is urgently needed and a permanent tax on the fossil fuel industry can bridge the gap between promise and reality. G7 governments are sitting on the answer to the crisis of unaffordable energy. Fossil fuel companies are making their biggest pro?ts yet, while households around the world can’t afford their energy bills.

tax those windfall pro?ts and use revenues to accelerate electri?cation and deliver energy justice.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman recently said Bangladesh is steadily advancing toward clean energy, a green economy, and a self-reliant energy system through expanded use of renewable energy technologies. He made the remarks while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the ‘Renewable Solar Power On-Grid Rooftop’ initiative at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka. ‘Today we are inaugurating an initiative that is not only a power generation project, but also a symbol of Bangladesh’s sustainable future,’ the Prime Minister said. Referring to the launch of the onemegawatt rooftop solar power system at the parliament complex, he said the project sends a strong message that Bangladesh is moving steadily toward clean energy, sustainable economic growth, and energy self-reliance.

at the request of the Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament Major (retd) Ha?z Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, formally inaugurated the rooftop solar initiative

Local garment factories remain far from meeting clean energy consumption targets, held back by high renewable energy costs, limited rooftop space and policy bottlenecks that are slowing adoption across the sector, according to a new study.

the ?ndings come as global buyers tighten sustainability requirements and increase pressure on exporters to cut emissions across supply chains under the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

the directive, which came into effect last year, requires garment factories in Bangladesh to generate 35 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2035 for smooth Western exports.

on the ground, however, just 3 percent of electricity used by garment factories currently comes from renewable sources, according to the study.

it was prepared by Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) at BRAC University after surveying 878 factories in Gazipur and Narayanganj.

the ?ndings, presented at an event at Sheraton Dhaka yesterday, show that the apparel sector remains heavily dependent on conventional energy despite the 2035 deadline.

The government is set to formulate an investment-friendly renewable energy policy by June 2026 to attract both local and foreign investment in Bangladesh’s clean energy sector, Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hassan Mahmood said recently. Speaking at the ‘Market Sounding Workshop on Sonagazi 130MW Solar PV with BESS PPP Project’ organized by the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), the minister said the government had formed a committee to identify policy incentives and support mechanisms for investors in renewable energy. He said the government would act as a facilitator by introducing measures such as reduced duties on solar equipment, tax incentives, and improved policy support to encourage pro?table investment in the sector.

Bangladesh and the United States have signed a strategic energy cooperation memorandum aimed at strengthening bilateral collaboration and enhancing Bangladesh’s longterm energy security. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the US Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. by Dr Khalilur Rahman and Chris Wright.

under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate in capacity building, technical knowledge exchange, and joint studies on oil, gas, geothermal energy, and bioenergy. The MoU is also expected to support Bangladesh’s import of US lique?ed natural gas (LNG), lique?ed petroleum gas (LPG), and other energy products at competitive prices.

of?cials said the agreement comes at a time of growing global energy uncertainty and is intended to help Bangladesh diversify energy sources and strengthen supply chain resilience.

Forecasters say a potentially ‘super’ El Nino is rapidly taking shape in the Paci?c — but whether it evolves into a historymaking event could hinge on ?ckle winds and other volatile atmospheric shifts.

the fast-warming tropical Paci?c is pointing to a major event, but a crucial weakening of trade winds — capable of turbocharging or throttling the phenomenon — has yet to materialise. Scientists say these interactions are notoriously complex and dif?cult to predict — making it too early to con?dently forecast how powerful this El Nino could become.

the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says there is about an 80 percent chance of El Nino developing by July. Sea temperatures in key El Nino zones of the equatorial Paci?c are rapidly rising, and an enormous pool of abnormally warm water is massing beneath the surface.