The electricity tariff in Bangladesh hiked by 5 percent at the retail level is still less than that of many developed countries, said Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Friday. A slight increase in electricity tariff is proposed to adjust the subsidy borne by the government, he told the reporters at Rajshahi Circuit House.   “Our government is counting thousands of crores in subsidies for the power sector so that the people do not suffer and can get electricity at a cheap price.” Rising fuel prices in Europe and the UK are driving electricity rationing, driving up prices. But in Bangladesh, the price has not been increased in that way as the power sector is still dependent on fossil fuels, he said. Also Read: BNP paying for "imprudent" decisions: Hasan Mahmud The government has raised the electricity tariff by 5 percent at the retail level that  will be effective from January 1. Now the average tariff for all consumers will go up by Tk0.36 to Tk7.49 from Tk7.13, the Power Division said in a media statement Thursday. Regarding the prime minister’s rally in Rajshahi on January 29, Hasan said the rally will be in a field, but the whole city will turn into a rally that day. There will be millions of people joining the rally. “We believe in the power of the people. And they (BNP) believe in conspiracy and the power of arms. So, all evil forces should be eliminated by the power of the people and that should be shown in the rally of Rajshahi on January 29.” Marking the PM’s rally here, Hasan Mahmud arrived in Rajshahi this morning for an exchange of views with local leaders and a field visit.    

The V20 Group of Finance Ministers has concluded its senior officials meeting with a call on the International Monetary Fund and related international financial institutions to intervene with practical solutions for the delivery of the $100 billion per year pledged by developed countries under the Paris Climate Treaty. Hosted by the Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance of Bangladesh, the  meeting held on Tuesday focused on financing initiatives of the V20 and on advocacy and partnerships efforts for countries most threatened by climate change. As highlighted by the First V20 Climate Vulnerables’ Finance Summit and V20 Ministerial Dialogue VII, the world has arrived at ‘a point of no return’ and the most vulnerable suffer financial losses the most, the officials observed. The V20 calls for a joint ‘Delivery Plan’ from the developed nations to concretely demonstrate how annual climate finance will be met over the 5-year period from 2020 to 2024, or $500 billion in total. IMF and other financial institutions are urged to jointly assess gaps and failures in international finance and to propose practical solutions, taking into consideration debt sustainability. Synergies between existing funds and streamlined direct access by countries must be prioritized. Read: IMF keen to work closely for Bangladesh’s RMG sector’s development A clear and concrete Delivery Plan for the UNFCCC-agreed US$100 billion per year for the period 2020 until 2025, with a total of US$500 billion can include the following: Aggregate and individual public contributions from all developed nations per year, highlighting additionality to ODA (i.e., that climate finance is not just‘re-purposed’ ODA). Public and private mobilizations to reach at least $500 billion in 50:50 balanced (adaptation-mitigation) flows for the period 2020-24; debt and grant proportions supported per developed country, showing a growing emphasis on grants especially for adaptation over time; growing emphasis of adaptation resources reaching developing nations particularly vulnerable to climate change; transparency on implementation through annual tracking conducted independently by the IMF and IMF to ascertain the most efficient composition of climate finance. The new financing goal targets for 2025 can benefit from considering V20 Climate Finance Viewpoints which also underscores for an inclusive process, commensurate with ground truths. In line with risk-information, the V20 and Insurance Development Forum further confirm steps forward in a partnership to be launched at COP to provide vulnerable country governments with an open-access risk modelling platform and the knowledge to utilize the best of global and local models and data. Specifically the Global Risk Modelling Alliance is designed to enable V20 members to strengthen their physical climate risk management capabilities and create the trust and confidence necessary to attract investment in adaptation and risk financing solutions. The V20 further look forward to reaching a way forward during the InsuResilience High Level Consultative Group meeting with G20+ members on smart premium subsidies and capitalization support and an improved climate and disaster risk financing and insurance architecture to highlight gaps in light of increasing frequency and intensity of climate-fueled disasters. Efforts on key initiatives including the ‘climate prosperity’ program for the development and implementation of the strategic economic-climate-SDG investment and cooperation frameworks, commencing with Bangladesh’s ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’. Read: IMF approves largest SDR allocation in history to boost global liquidity Since its founding in 2015, the V20 continues working through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and national Financial Institutions (Fis) to develop an Accelerated Financing Mechanism: an innovative financing mechanism to bring down the cost of capital across the capital stack by directly unlocking at least $30 billion of private sector investments, through more systematic and optimized financial de-risking for resilient infrastructure and renewable energy. A Sustainable Insurance Facility, provides climate-smart insurance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the vulnerable people that depend on them and aims to build local and regional insurance markets to help better absorb risk, develop resilient business models, and free up public and private resources for investment in the resilience and growth of the V20 economies and people. Asia-Pacific implementation is already advancing, supported by the Asian Development Bank’s ACliFF. The facility is now hosted in the UN Environment FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative, and supported by the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative. Formed in 2015, the V20 Group of Finance Ministers is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systematically vulnerable to climate change. It is currently chaired by Bangladesh. The V20 membership stands at 48 economies including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Kiribati, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Senegal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Viet Nam and Yemen.

Bangladesh has called upon the developed countries -- responsible for the highest rates of global carbon emissions -- to pay compensation to the poorer nations for the losses and damages incurred through climate change. In an interview with ITV News, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said it is fair and just for these bigger countries to pay compensation because they are the ones that abuse the resources and spoil planet Earth. The G20, which is made up of most of the world’s largest economies, accounts for more than 80% of global carbon emissions. Meanwhile, developing countries like Bangladesh often emit the lowest amounts of global emissions but are forced to endure the disproportionate wrath of climate change. Bangladesh is only responsible for 0.4% of the planet’s total carbon discharge yet loses around 2% of its GDP yearly to extreme climate events, says the ITV News. Six million Bangladeshis have so far got displaced as a consequence of climate change and by 2050, the country fears 17% of its coastline will vanish underwater creating 30 million climate refugees. “This is an existential problem for Bangladesh,” Momen said, adding that the climate change issue is not a national issue, not a regional issue, it is a global issue. "We all have to work together in collaboration and partnership to save this planet." Read: Bangladesh to be voice of climate vulnerable countries: FM

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Benazir Ahmed on Saturday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dream is to develop Bangladesh Police like the police forces of developed countries by 2041. IGP made this remarks after inaugurating Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Uttara Regional Police Lines barrack building at Diabari in the capital. IGP said police services should be reached to the doorsteps of people by beat policing.