Singapore-headquartered SPIL, the leading foreign direct investor in Bangladesh’s power sector, said it hoped the widely anticipated COP29 Climate Change Conference starting 11 November in Azerbaijan will lead to an actionable agenda that can balance global net zero targets with the needs of poorer countries seeking to eradicate poverty and create jobs on an accelerated scale.

SPIL operates 18 power plants with a combined capacity of 2,255 MW or approximately 17% of the total installed private power generation capacity in the country of 173 million people. As a responsible company with a strong track record of providing energy and power to Bangladesh, SPIL is acutely aware of the international initiatives to de-carbonise.

At COP21 in 2015, 196 countries signed the Paris Agreement with collective commitments to limit global warming. However, subsequent global financing initiatives have been deadlocked. Among the key initiatives of COP29 is a New Collective Quantified Goal to deliver substantive climate financing to regions that need it most.

Beyond the pledges, global climate goals must also take into consideration challenges unique to each country, especially the lesser developed, said SPIL. Prior to COP29, SPIL had outlined its internal Climate Action Plan to support Bangladesh’s stated goal (declared at the COP26 in Glasgow in 2021) to achieve up to 40% of clean energy use in its power generation mix by 2041.

“Both the national and SPIL’s own de-carbonisation targets have to be viewed against the backdrop of the pandemic and subsequent supply chain disruptions as well as the conflict in Ukraine which drove up prices of fossil fuels. Bangladesh, which has to contend with cyclones and flooding on a regular basis, has felt the impact of such disruptions more acutely than most other countries.

“We hope COP29 – whose leaders have promised engagement, ambition, and action – will address decisively real-world issues from the perspective of developing nations and responsible corporates involved in the energy eco-system, such as SPIL. We look forward to holistic approaches that avoid a one-size-fits-all mindset,” SPIL said.

SPIL’s Founder and Chairman, Mr Muhammed Aziz Khan, a Singapore citizen, said: “We hope COP29 adopts approaches fairly and equitably to address the social and economic impact, particularly for vulnerable communities and workers in fossil fuel industries in developing countries. A just energy transition must promote circular economy principles that benefit local populations to ensure resilience.

Second, international organisations, governments, and corporations must provide funding and technology to support the energy transition. For developing countries such as Bangladesh, such approaches must combine development finance and foreign direct investments.

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