DHAKA : Bangladesh Bank (BB) has planned making the country’s banking sector paperless, which will be a big step forward towards green transformation of the financial sector.
“We are committed to implementing a full scale IT based paperless banking operation in due course,” BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said, adding that a separate department has been established at the central bank to address the green issues in a broader manner.
The governor made the announcement while launching the Energy Efficiency Engagement Event at a city hotel yesterday, reports BSS.
Observing that transforming financial sector more eco-friendly is indispensible for ensuring an environmentally sustainable economic growth, he put green banking at the front of the forecourt of the agenda for large scale green transformation and said – “No doubt, green banking is a catalyst for green growth”.
Dr Rahman, who drove green banking in the country banking sector, appreciated Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for establishing the Energy Efficiency secretariat in Bangladesh.
“This initiative reflects a clear commitment of DANIDA and NCCI activities towards green transformation and green growth of Bangladesh,” he said. The governor also highlighted the different initiatives of the central bank to make the country’s banking and eventually the financially sector environmentally more responsible.
“Bangladesh Bank has been providing a range of policy and financing support to banks and FIs (financial institutions) for mainstreaming green banking into the core banking practices. These endeavors have been enhanced in the last couple of years,” the governor said.
He said so 47 green products have been included in the BB refinance scheme of which 23 are green energy.
“Shifting the investment from fossil-fuel to green energy is the only way for transforming economic growth paths. Assessment of environmental risks above the threshold limit is a must,” he observed.
Dr Rahman said Bangladesh maintained more than 6.0 percent real GDP growth over the last 10 years, which is poised to increase in the years ahead. To continue this growth momentum, it has been estimated that energy consumption should grow at the rate of at least 10 percent.
He said we understood most of the lenders are not familiar with Energy Efficiency Technology and approaches and require technical support to appraise and manage loans for Energy Efficiency projects.
“In this scenario, we do expect the Energy Efficiency secretariat will look into these challenges for converting them into opportunities which will indeed give impetus to the green transformation, green growth of Bangladesh economy,” the governor said.
Denmark Ambassador Hanne Fugl Eskjaer, Head of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Engineering Department, BUET Dr. Mohammad Tamim, ABB Solutions in Energy Efficiency Country Manager Rajarshi Banerjee, Danida Senior Advisor Stephan Skare Enevoldsen and NCCI President Shamim Ul Huq also spoke on the occasion.