The High Court docket has issued a rule requiring the respondents to illustrate why the Integrated Energy and Energy Master Concept (IEPMP) 2023 must never ever be reconsidered, with enter from the Ministry of Atmosphere, Forest, and Climate Commerce.
The court docket’s rule also asks the respondents to clarify why they want to never be directed to rob into consideration and put into effect the Climate Prosperity Concept 2022-2041, a authorities-licensed technique aimed at addressing the country’s climate challenges in alignment with world treaties Bangladesh has entered into.
The rule of thumb used to be issued by an HC bench led by Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf, as per a assertion issued at the unusual time (3 December).
It used to be a response to a writ petition filed by Attorneys for Energy Atmosphere and Pattern Shrimp (LEED), with Barrister Abdullah Mahmood Hasan, Advocate Abdullah Al Noman, Advocate Monera Haque Mone, and Advocate Shimon Raihan representing the organisation.
The authorities and the secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Energy, and Mineral Resources were named as respondents.
The case marks a ancient milestone, making Bangladesh the first South Asian country to finishing up the IEPMP in the Supreme Court docket.
LEED, a social endeavor dedicated to promoting energy security and environmental protection, has long advocated against the authorities’s reliance on fossil fuels and its failure to prioritise climate alternate and human rights.
This upright fight seeks to verify Bangladesh fulfils its constitutional commitment to a wholesome atmosphere and adheres to world climate agreements, such because the Paris Settlement and the UN’s Sustainable Pattern Targets.
The case mirrors world climate complaints, alongside side a most up-to-date one by youngsters in South Korea, and marks a vital step toward climate justice in South Asia, atmosphere an critical upright precedent for preserving governments accountable for climate tell of no process.
Hasan Mehedi, chief executive of the Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Motion Network, expressed concerns about the IEPMP, highlighting its reliance on fossil fuels love coal and LNG (30.7%) and developed but unproven applied sciences corresponding to liquid hydrogen and ammonia (32.8%) by 2050.
He stated that the view “straight contradicts Bangladesh’s Climate Prosperity Concept, which envisions 100% renewable energy by the same yr.”
While the Japan International Cooperation Company (JICA) has supported energy initiatives in Bangladesh, its funding of fossil gas-based totally initiatives love coal energy vegetation raises questions about adherence to world climate commitments.
