Current Situation

Last update: 29 January 2025

Emissions profile

Bangladesh’s total greenhouse gas emissions have steadily increased since 1990. Based on Bangladesh’s latest inventory, emissions increased by 22% between 2013 and 2019, reaching 216 MtCO₂e, including LULUCF.¹

The energy sector accounted for 53% of the country’s total GHG emissions in 2019.² This is predominantly fuelled by fossil gas, which constituted 81% of electricity generation in 2019. Moreover, Bangladesh is increasingly reliant on coal for power generation (13% of generation in 2023).³

Agricultural emissions made up 29% of total emissions in 2019. These were primarily methane emissions from rice cultivation enteric fermentation and animal waste.⁴ Waste contributed a further 10% of emissions.

Bangladesh is set to advance from the group of least developed countries in 2026 and aims to achieve developed status by 2041. Given the pivotal role of energy and electricity in sustaining economic growth and infrastructure development, Bangladesh must plan how it will facilitate a sustainable socio-economic transition.

Due to recent political uncertainty in the country, with a high risk of both economic and policy instability, Bangladesh faces significant challenges in effectively implementing its climate commitments. Although Bangladesh updated its NDC in 2021 – pledging a 6.7% reduction below business-as-usual emissions levels by 2030 – it will require greater ambition to align the country with 1.5°C aligned pathways (contingent on international support).

When graphs include LULUCF, the center value includes LULUCF if the sector is a net source of emissions and excludes it when the sector is a net sink of emissions

Graph description

Historical emissions per gas and per sector.

Data References
- Sectoral emissions: Bangladesh's First Biennial Update Report

Energy overview and main policy gaps

Energy demand in Bangladesh has increased by an average of 5.7% annually between 2010 and 2022.⁵ Bangladesh’s primary energy supply is dominated by fossil gas, accounting for 53% of total supply in 2022.⁶

Fossil fuels contributed to around 85% of total energy supply in 2022, with a fossil gas share of 53% of the total.⁷ Energy consumption has surged, with heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels and the country is paying the price of volatility in the global energy market in the form of subsidy burden.⁸ Since 2020, oil-based power generation has more than doubled.⁹

Bangladesh is one of the few countries in Asia increasing its share of coal use in power generation. Coal has traditionally played a small role in Bangladesh’s power generation, contributing 1-2% between 2005-2020, but has since increased to 13% as of 2023.¹⁰ Further increases are anticipated with 12.5 GW of coal-fired power plants in the pipeline, from 1.8 GW in 2020.¹¹^,¹² This expansion of coal capacity risks lock-in dependence on imported coal, further jeopardising Bangladesh’s energy security, as well as increasing GHG emissions.

Despite aiming for 10% of total electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020, the country has only achieved 1.5% as of 2023.¹³ ¹⁴ Lack of a clear regulatory framework and legally binding targets, inadequate financial incentives and access to funding, and weak grid infrastructure create hurdles to deploying renewables.¹⁵ Moreover, bureaucratic hurdles and lengthy approval processes are creating additional inefficiencies.

Targets and commitments

Unconditional target from 2021 NDC

As expressed by the country:

6.73% below business-as-usual levels by 2030.¹⁶

When excluding LULUCF, Bangladesh’s unconditional 2021 NDC translates to:

381 MtCO₂e or 130% above 2012 levels by 2030

Conditional target from 2021 NDC

As expressed by the country:

15.12% below business-as-usual by 2030.¹⁷

When excluding LULUCF, Bangladesh’s conditional 2021 NDC translates to:

320 MtCO₂e or 93% above 2012 levels by 2030

Sector Coverage

Agriculture, Waste, Industry (processes), Energy, LULUCF

Long-term target

As of November 2024, Bangladesh has not submitted a long-term strategy to the UNFCCC.

Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, “Bangladesh First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” June 2023 ↩
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, “Bangladesh First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.” ↩
Ember, “Electricity Data Explorer,” Ember (blog), 2024 ↩
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, “Bangladesh First Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.” ↩
Enerdata, “Bangladesh Energy Information,” February 9, 2024 ↩
IEA, “Countries & Regions: Bangladesh,” IEA, 2023 ↩
IEA, “Countries & Regions: Bangladesh.” ↩
Shafiqul Alam, “Bangladesh Should Plan for Energy Security, Not Just Electricity Access” (IEEFA, 2023) ↩
IEA, “Countries & Regions: Bangladesh.” ↩
Ember, “Electricity Data Explorer.” ↩
Sudarshan Varadhan, Ashley Fang, and Sudarshan Varadhan, “Bangladesh’s 2023 Coal-Fired Power Output Tripled, Easing Shortages,” Reuters, January 3, 2024, sec. Energy ↩
Global Energy Monitor, “Bangladesh Dashboard,” Global Energy Monitor (blog), 2024 ↩
Ember, “Electricity Data Explorer.” ↩
Alam, “Bangladesh Should Plan for Energy Security, Not Just Electricity Access”; Government of Bangladesh, “Integrated Energy and Power Sector Master Plan 2023,” 2023 ↩
World Bank, “Framework for Implementing Green Growth in Bangladesh - 2023,” 2023 ↩
In 2021 Bangladesh submitted an updated NDC with an unconditional emissions reduction target of 6.73% (27.53 MtCO2e/yr) below BAU levels by 2030, and a conditional target of 15% (61.9 MtCO₂e/yr) by 2030 which will lead to an increase in emissions of 126% above 2012 levels (unconditional) and 89% above 2012 levels by 2030 including LULUCF (conditional). The conditional reduction is in addition to the proposed reductions in the unconditional scenario. Compared to Bangladesh’s first NDC which only covered energy-related emissions from the power, transport and industry sectors, the updated NDC covers additional sectors following IPCC guidelines - energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) and waste. The broader coverage means that Bangladesh will reduce more emissions in absolute terms than what it promised under its first NDC even though the percentage change will remain almost the same. As the updated NDC does not explicitly mention the global warming potential (GWP) used, we use values as they are provided by the NDC. Our analysis is based on the GWP from the 4^th Assessment Report (AR4). ↩
Government of Bangladesh, “Bangladesh’s Updated NDC,” 2021 ↩

What is Bangladesh's pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C?

Emissions profile

Bangladesh's 2019 GHG emissions

including LULUCF MtCO₂e/yr

Energy overview and main policy gaps

Targets and commitments

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