Saarc representatives call for regional collaboration on green energy

Cooperation among regional countries is the key to achieving optimum green energy production, representatives from South Asian countries pointed out at a discussion session in the capital on Sunday – the final day of the Regional Climate Summit.

They also emphasised the need for government-private sector cooperation for meeting green energy goals.

Lawmaker Tanvir Shakil Joy said regional cooperation is very much needed for meeting national green energy targets. It is a difficult task in South Asia, since regional nations here engage in multilateral collaborations far less than other blocs. However, there is huge potential to this end in South Asia.

It is not possible to achieve self-sufficiency in energy, and, therefore, as many bilateral deals as possible should be signed, he urged.

Countries in the region need investment from developed partners like the European Union, Tanvir added.

EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley said environment friendly energy will be needed in future all over the world as changing climate threatens human civilisation.

To provide sustainable and renewable energy at affordable cost to businesses and retail consumers, countries need to boost cooperation and integration by enhancing regional partnerships, he said.

Economist Qazi Khaliquzzaman said Bangladesh does not have enough potential to produce renewable energy domestically. The country had to reach out to Nepal for hydro energy, and needs to take more of such opportunities. 
Gyem Dorji, a member of parliament in Bhutan, said the Himalayan country has the capability and natural resources to meet the government's 5,000mw green power production target.

Countries should focus on multilateral deals to produce green power and Bhutan can lend support to this end as the country already has enough natural resources to support green power projects abroad, he said.

For a long time, Bhutan has been providing India with hydropower.

Vincent Pala, chairperson of Climate Estimates Committee in the Indian parliament, said the Indian government targets producing 500 gigawatts of renewable power and is emphasising multilateral cooperation to meet the goal. Thanks to cross-border transmission lines with various countries, India has already met 30% of its goal, Vincent Pala noted. 

Nepal's lawmaker Madhav Sapkota said the country has crossborder transmission lines with India and Bangladesh. The Nepal government has to cooperate with Saarc members for scaling up the country's renewable energy production, he added.

Eran Wickramaratne, a member of a parliament committee in Sri Lanka, said, the country has adopted a roadmap to completely transform power grids with green energy within 28 years.