The investment in eco-friendly or green technology will ensure sustainable economic growth and generate employment opportunities in Bangladesh.
Speakers, including economists, trade analysts and business leaders, came up with the remarks at the Green Development Conference-2018 (GDC 2018) and Green Tech Expo-2018 at KIB Complex in the capital recently.
NeoSTAR, in association with Abdul Monem Economic Zone Ltd, BRAC Bank Ltd, Christian Aid and Rahimafrooz Renewable Energy Ltd, organised the programme, aimed at focusing the key issues closely related to green growth and sustainable development.
Mikael Hemniti Winther, Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh, inaugurated the event as the chief guest. For the first time, Green Tech Expo 2018 (GTEX 2018) took place as a part of GDC 2018. GTEX 2018 highlighted the successful business models, applied research projects and green products.
Dr Atiur Rahman, former governor of Bangladesh Bank, Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice President of BGMEA, and Siddique Zobair, member of SREDA, also spoke in the event as special guests. Edward Apurba Singha, CEO of NeoSTAR Innovation, discussed the goals and impact of the conference on economic landscape of the country.
There were four panel sessions at the GDC-2018. The session titles were: ‘Impact of green investment on RMG sector and economic zones of Bangladesh’, ‘Promoting clean cooking stoves to safeguard health and environment’, ‘Better energy management in industry to achieve sustainable growth’, and ‘Potentials of clean energy to tackle climate change’.
In his speech, the Danish ambassador said there was no time to rest, and both companies and consumers needed to favour green technology and practices. The private sector should ask for government regulation to ensure a level-playing field and incentives for green initiatives.
While addressing the programme, Atiur Rahman said, “A scale-up of green investment will not only mitigate the impact of climate change, but will also foster sustainable economic growth and job creation.”
The experts also suggested that the Security Exchange Commission and National Board of Revenue be reformed to focus on an inclusive and sustainable economy.
NeoSTAR Innovation, a Bangladesh-based technology company, stresses information technology (IT) and green technology (GT) equally in order to introduce transformative changes to the country. It aims to construct a future Bangladesh where technology will transform life and economy without hampering the nature. It is also working to achieve a sustainable goal by focusing on areas such as solution development, tech services, awareness building and capacity development.
