A Critical Review of the Draft National Renewable Energy Development Strategy 2026 - 2030

Bangladesh stands at a defining crossroads. The question is no longer whether the country will expand renewable energy, but who will own it, who will benefit from it, and whose future it will serve. The current Draft Renewable Energy Development Strategy 2026 - 2030 risks preserving the very inequalities it claims to overcome replacing imported fossil fuels with imported technologies while leaving centralized control, fossil subsidies, and community exclusion largely untouched. A transition measured only in megawatts is not transformation. Our renewable energy advocacy challenges this model by placing energy sovereignty, citizen participation, and renewable energy rights at the heart of national policy. Farmers, cooperatives, SMEs, women, and local communities must become active producers and beneficiaries not passive consumers of Bangladesh's clean energy future.

This position paper argues that real climate leadership demands systemic change in renewable energy governance. Bangladesh must confront fossil fuel lock-in, redirect public investment toward decentralized and nature-smart solutions, protect land and livelihoods, and ensure that carbon finance and renewable energy markets generate shared public value instead of private concentration. We call on civil society leaders, development partners, journalists, and policymakers to join a bold agenda for energy sovereignty advocacy one that replaces dependency with resilience, centralization with participation, and short-term energy planning with long-term justice. The status quo is no longer a viable pathway to climate security, economic resilience, or a truly just energy transition.

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This paper outlines our institutional stance, supported by rigorous analysis and a strategic framework for addressing key policy challenges.

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