"Pressure from climate activists and rising costs for coal are driving a reduction in plans for new plants that use the dirtiest fossil fuel, the government says"
"DHAKA - Bangladesh has cancelled plans to build 10 coal-fired power plants, a government official said on Monday, amid rising costs for the fuel and increasing calls from activists to base more of the nation's power on renewable energy.
About 8% of the country's current electrical power comes from coal, but until last year the nation had plans to significantly increase that percentage by building at least 18 coal-fired plants.
Ten of those plants - which were not yet under construction - have now been cancelled, said Mohammad Hossain, head of Power Cell, a technical arm of the energy ministry. Others remain in construction or planning.
"There is a concern globally about coal and we have to adhere to that," he said. "The government is committed to reduce carbon emissions.""
Naimul Karim reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation June 28, 2021.
