The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed eagerness to collaborate with Bangladesh and other partners on climate initiatives, aiming to finance significant projects that yield substantial impact.

Bhargav Dasgupta, ADB Vice-President (Market Solutions), shared this sentiment, emphasizing the bank's commitment to financing projects that are both impactful and beneficial. He highlighted Bangladesh's interest in diversifying energy sources, signaling a potential area for partnership and collaboration.

ADB's private sector operations focus on empowering businesses, unlocking investments, and supporting key development priorities across Asia and the Pacific. Collaborating with various stakeholders, ADB addresses critical development challenges such as climate change, food security, and gender equality through innovative solutions.

Dasgupta noted ADB's longstanding role as a trusted partner for governments in Asia's developing countries and emphasized the bank's commitment to continuing its positive contributions.

Highlighting ADB's climate finance ambitions, Dasgupta mentioned the bank's goal to increase cumulative climate financing to $100 billion by 2030, with significant allocations for adaptation, resilience, and mitigation efforts. ADB aims to enhance climate finance for private sector operations to support the development of commercially viable and climate-friendly businesses.

In recent engagements in Bangladesh, ADB financed a 100-megawatt grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant in Pabna, representing the country's first private-sector utility-scale solar facility supported by global financiers. The project aims to address the challenge of obtaining long-term financing for renewable energy projects in Bangladesh and contributes to reducing carbon emissions.

As ADB continues its efforts as Asia's climate bank, the collaboration with Bangladesh underscores the importance of supporting renewable energy initiatives to address climate challenges and stimulate investment in critical sectors.