Investment is needed to transition the global economy to net-zero emissions and avoid climate catastrophe

Own Correspondent: Attended the Roundtable discussion as one of the speakers on “Financial and Professional Services – the role of standards and regulations on the road to net zero” at the event of Commonwealth Trade & Investment Summit 2022 held at the Mansion House, London, UK. The roundtable discussion was moderated by Mr. Bronek Masojada, Chair of the East End Community Foundation and Alderman of the City of London.

Approximately $50 trillion in incremental investments is required by 2050 to transition the global economy to net-zero emissions and avert a climate catastrophe. With just 0.4 percent, Bangladesh’s current contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is not significant. Its share of carbon emissions is only 0.09%.

Despite being one of the lowest emitters in the world, Bangladesh committed to cutting carbon emissions by 89.47 million tonnes, equivalent to 21.85% of carbon dioxide by 2030 as part of global efforts to control the emissions. To reach the target, Bangladesh will cut 96.1% of emissions from the energy sector such as power, transport, industry, households, commercial, agriculture, brick kilns and fugitive emissions. The remaining 3.9% will be cut from agriculture and livestock, forestry, and municipal solid waste and wastewater.

The government of Bangladesh is working with the private sector to implement environmentally friendly industrialization. We have already installed more than 6 million solar-home systems in off-grid areas, and more than 4.5 million improved cookstoves have been distributed in rural areas through PPP initiatives. Our industries are increasingly looking to innovate and moving for maintaining environment-friendly standards.

Bangladesh has a National Action Plan ready on climate change that requires $230 billion over the next 27 years till 2050 with 113 interventions with 90 high-priority ones.

As a climate change champion, Bangladesh laid strong emphasis on climate finance at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).

Climate financing may be mobilized through blending climate finance, private sector investment, innovative financings such as green or blue bonds, risk transfer mechanisms or insurance can be looked into. Green transformation and a boost in harnessing global climate finance multilateral funds can be an option.

The fiduciary standards of international climate funds like the GCF should be revisited and relaxed cohesively to ease the climate finance gap in highly climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh as per Article 9 of the Paris Agreement (2015).

Also, a Simplified Approval Process (SAP) and an increased quota for international funds the budgeting framework need to be introduced and popularized across the commonwealth.

I envision a constructive discussion and prospective engagements with the Commonwealth for joint venture partnerships at various stages of the clean energy supply chain; infrastructure, technologies, expertise and viable business models targeting improved energy productivity, and ensuring energy for all.

Lord Lindsay, Chairman, UK Accreditation Service – Susan Taylor Martin, CEO, BSI – Marco Forgione, Director-General, Institute of Export and International Trade – Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, Minister for External Affairs, Government of Guernsey – Eric Bush, JP, Chief Officer of the Ministry of International Trade, Aviation and Maritime Affairs, Cayman Islands Government – Nicholas Nyamali, Group Managing Director, Investment One Financial Services Limited – Mrs Catherine Clark, Director, ESG Policy Engagement, Prudential plc – Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Leadway Assurance, Mr. Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, Senior Vice-President of FBCCI and other members of the Bangladesh business delegation were also present in the roundtable.