Civil society in Chattogram protests demanding cancellation of the Energy Master Plan

Civil society groups staged a protest in Chattogram today (22 January), opposing the Energy and Power Sector Master Plan (EPSMP) 2025 and urging the interim government to withdraw the plan and adopt a 100% green grid-based energy roadmap.

The protesters said the 25-year master plan was being advanced without consultation with the public, civil society, independent experts, or key stakeholders. They alleged that the draft Energy and Power Sector Master Plan for 2026–2050 was prepared without a democratic process or transparency, while environmental and social impacts were inadequately assessed, and public participation was ignored.

The protest was organised by the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), with ISDE Bangladesh, Poribesh O Unnayan Forum–Chattogram, and the Coastal Livelihood and Environment Action Network (CLEAN) as co-organisers.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the CAB central committee and executive director of ISDE Bangladesh, said the interim government had completely sidelined citizens, civil society, and independent experts in formulating the draft plan. "This crucial national policy is being finalised without any form of consultation or open dialogue. It mirrors the opaque and unaccountable policymaking practices of the previous authoritarian government," he said.

Speakers at the programme argued that the interim government's mandate was limited to ensuring routine state administration, not pushing through a long-term, high-risk energy plan with far-reaching consequences. They also claimed that meaningful participatory consultations were not held despite directives from the High Court.

According to the organisers, EPSMP 2025 follows the same trajectory as past controversial projects approved under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act, paving the way for continued dependence on fossil fuel-based projects.

They pointed out that although the plan promotes "energy transition," actual renewable energy accounts for only 17% of the proposed mix, despite claims of 44% on paper. The plan proposes increasing gas-based power generation capacity from 15.8 gigawatts to 25.2 gigawatts. Even after 25 years, reliance on LNG, coal, and oil would remain at 50%, posing serious risks to energy security and the national economy, they said.

The protesters also criticised the plan's reliance on costly and experimental technologies such as hydrogen, ammonia co-firing, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), warning that these could lead to higher debt, subsidies, and environmental stress. Under the proposed plan, Bangladesh's carbon emissions are projected to reach 186.3 MtCO₂e by 2050, which they said contradicts the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and the vision of "zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero carbon."

From the protest, civil society representatives placed four key demands: immediate suspension and cancellation of EPSMP 2025; the launch of a transparent and inclusive national consultation process involving citizens and experts; a realistic roadmap to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and move towards 100% renewable energy; and adoption of a just, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable energy transition framework.

The speakers warned that failure to revise the plan would turn EPSMP 2025 into yet another opaque and anti-people document in Bangladesh's history, with long-term consequences for future generations.

Former Chattogram Journalists Union president M Nasirul Haque, former EDAB Chattogram president and women's rights leader Jasmin Sultana Paru, BNP Chattogram city women affairs secretary Dr Lucy Khan, and several other civic, professional, and youth leaders expressed solidarity at the programme.