Accelerating renewable energy financing is essential for Bangladesh to achieve its ambitious target of 40 per cent renewable energy-based power generation by 2041. Currently, renewable energy constitutes only 4.5 per cent of the country’s total energy mix, underscoring the need for substantial investment to meet future goals. Along with different domestic and international energy financing overseas investment, particularly from China, could be a key contributor to the sector. China is the largest overseas investor in the renewable energy sector – it has invested about USD 676 billion in clean energy in 2023, accounting for about 38 per cent of the global total. According to Bloomberg, it is projected to be USD 680 billion in 2024. Given the substantial investment requirement in Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector (USD 1.53 billion to USD 1.71 billion per year), Chinese overseas investment could be an important source for that financing.
Authors: Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Tamim Ahmed and Mashfiq Ahasan Hridoy
Publication Period: October 2024