How decarbonisation offers hope against climate change | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Monday
June 16, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2025
How decarbonisation offers hope against climate change

Thoughts

Alavy K Reza
26 January, 2025, 06:05 pm
Last modified: 26 January, 2025, 06:12 pm

Related News

  • ‘Unacceptable and inadequate’: Experts slam govt for allocating only 0.67% of GDP to 25 climate-related ministries
  • Budget FY26: Tk100cr allocation proposed for tackling climate change risks
  • BNP wants to prioritise climate change, environmental protection in election manifesto: Mahdi Amin
  • Japanese SMBC's $1.86b fossil fuel investments draining Bangladesh's public funds, civil society orgs claim
  • Climate change: BPATC trainers receive specialised training to develop course modules for enhancing locally-led adaptation

How decarbonisation offers hope against climate change

Despite the gloom and doom of the climate crisis, there is still cause for hope. Adopting decarbonisation techniques offers us a way to reduce our carbon footprints, reduce costs, and significantly improve people’s day-to-day lives

Alavy K Reza
26 January, 2025, 06:05 pm
Last modified: 26 January, 2025, 06:12 pm
Illustration: TBS
Illustration: TBS

As fires engulf one side of the world and floods and cyclones dominate the other, it is hard to believe that there is any good news on climate change. Anyone who remembers the summer of 2024 in Dhaka can remember the exhaust-like hot air on your face when you would go past a CNG, or that burning feeling on your skin due to the heat. 

But there is still good news to be found. And the good news comes with one word – decarbonisation. 

Jobayda works at a garments factory in Gazipur. She is a sewing operator. Her work is around sewing machines all day, and her day-to-day life does not concern decarbonisation at all. 

One day, her line manager told her that the sewing machines would be replaced with an efficient motor to reduce energy consumption. She was also told that with more efficient sewing techniques, she could save electricity consumption for the company. 

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The more efficient her work was, the more incentives she and her colleagues were receiving. She also saw the factory make other changes like changing the light bulbs and changing the layout of the factory to get light from the sun. The ventilation was also better as the exhaust fans were being maintained regularly. 

One day, Shahid's sister shared with him that nearby farms have been powering their buildings with solar energy, and they did not have to rely so much on grid electricity. Shahid spoke to some local NGOs about it, and they helped him install solar power on his roof. After a few months, his neighbours followed suit and now the village is fully decarbonised!

Her factory was employing decarbonisation strategies where the focus was reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, particularly those related to energy production. 

Some kilometres away from Jobayda, Tinni lives in a flat with her family. The last year has been hard on her, the electricity bill keeps increasing and a significant portion of her salary goes to electric bills. 

Her colleague suggested that she should investigate her electric bill every month and take stock of the high-energy-consuming appliances; she could save at least 10% on electricity this way next month. 

Utilising this technique, she found out that her air conditioning did not come with an inverter, causing electricity bills to rise significantly in summer! For winter months, she made sure that she took small initiatives like heating her geyser during off-peak electric surge hours and ensuring proper insulation on the geyser to keep the heat last longer. 

A few hundred kilometres away, Shahid had been suffering from power outages for the last three months. This made summers intolerable and winters darker and greyer. 

One day, his sister shared with him that nearby farms had been powering their buildings with solar energy, and they did not have to rely so much on grid electricity. Shahid spoke to some local NGOs about it, and they helped him install solar power on his roof. After a few months, his neighbours followed suit and now the village is fully decarbonised! 

From industry to our homes, Bangladesh has grown in the ways we adopt cleaner and more sustainable energy sources while driving economic growth. 

Affordable, reliable and modern energy for all might seem unachievable, as we go into 2025 with the projection of higher energy costs. But we can do better. 

26 January is the International Day of Clean Energy. This day serves as a reminder of the pressing need to transition to low-carbon energy sources to combat climate change effectively and aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), which advocates for affordable, reliable and modern energy for all. 

With decarbonisation, we can also lower energy costs. When we think of the entire lifecycle cost of an electric motor, the purchase price only accounts for 1% of the cost itself and the cost for maintenance and repair is another 1%. 

This means that 98% of the energy cost is of running the motor itself. When we think about this machinery from the lens of decarbonisation, not only will we reduce our carbon footprint, but also the cost associated with it. 

Adopting decarbonisation strategies is indeed a cause for optimism in these uncertain times. 

These strategies are not just abstract concepts; they follow a well-defined structure that allows us to take actionable steps toward reducing carbon emissions. This structured approach provides a clear framework that we can control and execute effectively, empowering us to make meaningful progress in our fight against climate change.


Sketch: TBS
Sketch: TBS

Alavy K. Reza is a doctoral researcher at UNU-Flores and has been an industrial decarbonisation specialist for almost a decade. 


Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.

 

decarbonisation / climate change

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, 16 June 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
    Iranian missiles hit Israel's Tel Aviv, Haifa
  • Infograph: TBS
    Ship congestion at Ctg port lingers as berthing time rises
  • An FBI poster shows images of 57-year-old Vance Luther, the primary suspect involved in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, released on June 14, 2025. FBI/Handout via REUTERS
    Suspect in custody after shooting Minnesota lawmakers while posing as officer: ABC News

MOST VIEWED

  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Merger of 5 Islamic banks at final stage: BB governor
  • UCB launches Bangladesh's first microservices-based open API banking platform
    UCB launches Bangladesh's first microservices-based open API banking platform
  • Photo: Collected
    Pakistan rejects reports of missile supply to Iran
  • Non-performing loans surge by Tk74,570cr in Q1 as hidden rot exposed
    Non-performing loans surge by Tk74,570cr in Q1 as hidden rot exposed
  • Crore-taka bank accounts edge down by 719 in March quarter
    Crore-taka bank accounts edge down by 719 in March quarter
  • Nepal begins 38MW hydropower export to Bangladesh
    Nepal begins 38MW hydropower export to Bangladesh

Related News

  • ‘Unacceptable and inadequate’: Experts slam govt for allocating only 0.67% of GDP to 25 climate-related ministries
  • Budget FY26: Tk100cr allocation proposed for tackling climate change risks
  • BNP wants to prioritise climate change, environmental protection in election manifesto: Mahdi Amin
  • Japanese SMBC's $1.86b fossil fuel investments draining Bangladesh's public funds, civil society orgs claim
  • Climate change: BPATC trainers receive specialised training to develop course modules for enhancing locally-led adaptation

Features

Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

16h | Panorama
Photos: Collected

Kurtis that make a great office wear

2d | Mode
Among pet birds in the country, lovebirds are the most common, and they are also the most numerous in the haat. Photo: Junayet Rashel

Where feathers meet fortune: How a small pigeon stall became Dhaka’s premiere bird market

4d | Panorama
Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

5d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Netanyahu says Washington knew about Iran attack plans

Netanyahu says Washington knew about Iran attack plans

13m | TBS World
Macron to visit Greenland after Trump's annexation threat

Macron to visit Greenland after Trump's annexation threat

11h | TBS World
Important facilities including Natanz damaged in Israeli attack

Important facilities including Natanz damaged in Israeli attack

12h | Others
Iran's gas production from South Pars halted after Israeli attack

Iran's gas production from South Pars halted after Israeli attack

13h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net