The government is going to prepare the ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, 2020-2030’. Under this plan, there will be a wind power project on the Bay of Bengal continental shelf. The plan will be presented to the cabinet for approval on Thursday (6 January). However, the project was not approved and instructions were given for further review and for re-presentation.
A virtual meeting of the cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Prime Minister joined from Ganobhaban, and Ministers from the cabinet division of the Secretariat joined the meeting via video conference.
After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam said in the secretariat that it (Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan) was not approved today. Some observations have been given.
He said that after the discussion, they were told to review it a bit more. Because if there is a financial issue in any policy, strategy, or agreement, then a vetting of finance has to be brought. There was no vetting of finance. That’s why there are some observations, they have to be addressed and then re-presented with vetting from finance.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the main objective of this prosperity plan is to ensure the future prosperity of Bangladesh by 2030 through sustainable prosperity, reduction of dependence on fuel imports, strengthening of the workplace, and development of the current way of life. Therefore, a strategy has been given on how the plan can be implemented within the national development plan, monetary policy, and framework. The implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement has also been brought up here. An important point is that the plan shows the projection of a 4 GW wind power network in the Bay of Bengal continental shelf (extended part of coastal land towards the sea and underwater).
The Cabinet Secretary further said that the plan has shown the projections including the skill development of coal, oil, and thermal power plant workers. The Cabinet Secretary further said that the positive or negative aspects of climate change should be made known to all, especially a projection of these should be shown. About 80 billion dollars will have to be invested here and about 50 billion dollars will be added to our GDP. It was with this strategy that it was brought here.
