Bangladesh, which reels from highly fragile fossil fuel imports, did not receive any significant renewable energy investment in 2023, said a report of the United States-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis released on Thursday.

The report said that the global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 faced an investment gap of up to US$400 billion annually between 2024 and 2030.

Lending cap to renewable energy was insufficient, the report said, the limit under the green refinancing scheme in Bangladesh is Tk 0.3 billion.

The report urged the COP29 should create clear policy roadmap to spur bank lending for renewable energy.

Banks, which channelled a whopping US$967 billion to the fossil fuel sector, can bridge the gap by reorienting capital to the renewable energy sector, the report observed.

‘While bank credit flows to the fossil fuel sector is declining, it was still a whopping US$967 billion in 2022. On the flip side, low-carbon development projects, including renewable energy, received US$708 billion in the same year. By reorienting more capital to the renewable energy sector, banks can bridge the projected investment gap,’ Shafiqul Alam, Lead Analyst – Bangladesh Energy, IEEFA and a co-author of the study, was quoted in a press release.

Since climate change is already recognised as a material risk to the financial system, central banks and regulatory bodies are issuing guidelines and formulating regulations to nudge commercial banks to integrate climate change risks into lending and risk management practices, the report said.

Governments, Multilateral Development Banks, and bilateral financial institutions can provide risky and concessional capital for credit enhancement support.

The report finds that under different estimates, global investment in renewable energy has been growing, highlighting the attractiveness of renewable energy among investors.

It rose from the range of US$329 billion - US$424 billion in 2019 to US$570 billion - US$735 billion in 2023, implying a jump of 73 per cent – 78per cent during this period.

News Link: No significant RE investment in 2023 in Bangladesh: report