BWGED in 2020: Annual Report
Channel: BWGED Bangladesh
Date: 2021-06-25

In the year 2020, BWGED started with a lot of hope to organize a number of campaigns on energy and climate change. On 2nd January 2020, a workshop was organized on “Bangladesh Energy Scenario: Reality and Vision” in Dhaka. 17 campaigners participated in the meeting where we designed some of the activities to be undertaken in 2020.

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, we could not organize many of the planned activities. We had to change all our plans and that contributed to this year becoming a successful year in the Working Group’s life.

Literally, BWGED had no financial resources in 2020. Like many of you, CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network) supported us with the finance and human resources for the programs. It should be mentioned that the pandemic gave us an opportunity to get national and international resource persons in our dialogues which we couldn’t do during normal times. Many international networks have sufficient resources to invite these persons to join any meeting physically, but we don’t. However, we managed to do it by using online platforms.

In the year 2020, we have organized 14 online meetings, dialogues and rallies both stand-alone and in cooperation with 32 organizations and networks from Bangladesh and all over the world. 1202 people from 34 countries joined us. Among the participants, 97 notable persons, researchers and activists delivered their valuable speeches in different programs. The male-female ratio of the participants was 63% vs 37%. We have to work more to ensure gender equality here.

Due to the pandemic, we started our online meetings from 30th April 2020 on the Energy Sector of Bangladesh: Present Situation and Demands of Civil Society. Members of BGWED participated in this meeting. We are grateful to PRAN for providing support in using the Zoom platform for the meeting. 

Before the national budget 2020, we organized an online seminar on External Debt, Energy and Prospect of Economic Recovery in Bangladesh, together with DBM, JACSES, NGO Forum on ADB and Urgewald on 2nd June 2020 to focus on the economic aspects of the energy investments in Bangladesh. We organized a follow up meeting on the same topic on 26th June 2020 together with LNSP to review the national budget presented in the national parliament.

We organized an online rally on 16th September 2020 during the Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB), in collaboration with NGO Forum on ADB, APMDD, PMCJ, BWI, AEPF and INSAF. The rally sent a message to ADB to stop financing dirty energy projects.

Another online rally was organized on 23rd September 2021 on the negative impacts of Matarbari Coal Power Plant, together with 13 organizations including 350.org, BAPA, BELA, CEPR, Change Initiative, Growthwatch, INSAF, JACSES, Phulbari Solidarity Group, Songshoptaque, Urgewald and Waterkeepers Bangladesh.

We organized a meeting on the Challenges of Energy Sector Immunity in Bangladesh on 10th July 2020 together with the School of People’s Law where prominent lawyers of Bangladesh discussed the non-compliances of the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (special provisions) Act 2010.

We started another series of online program called “Listen to Bangladesh” on 24th August and 4th September where affected communities from Matarbari, Kohelia, Maheshkhali, Payra, Rampal and Barguna met with national and international activists to describe the sufferings of local people due to the fossil fuel investments in those areas. We are thankful to Actionaid Bangladesh for supporting us to organize these events.

In collaboration with Growthwatch, INSAF, LNSP and SAPACC, we organized a bilateral dialogue called Indo-Bangla Energy Dialogue on 20th July 2020 to discuss common issues and concerns towards a common movement on fossil fuel investments and climate change.

Following the dialogue, we organized a Webinar on Adani & Godda Coal Power Plant on 10th August 2020 with AIPWA, Environics Trust, Growthwatch, INSAF and MM&P. Affected communities, journalists, lawyers and policymakers from India, Bangladesh and Australia joined this meeting to raise voice against Adani’s regressive investments for coal mining and power plants.

Another webinar on Toxic Fly Ash Trade in the World Heritage Site was organized together with BELA, CLEAN, Growthwatch, Healthy Energy Initiative India and INSAF on 6th November 2020 in solidarity with the fishermen group who had filed a case in the National Green Tribunal of India against pollution.

Our Japanese friends were always with us in several meetings, submission of memorandums and campaigns against the Japanese Investments in the fossil fuel energy sector of Bangladesh.