ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2020

This report examines the clean cooking landscape in Bangladesh, detailing the prevalence of biomass fuels, the adoption of various clean cooking technologies, and the financing mechanisms and policy barriers affecting the transition to cleaner energy. It highlights the role of government-led initiatives and development finance institutions in promoting improved cookstoves and biogas, while noting a lack of private sector participation outside the LPG market.

• As of 2018, approximately 80 percent of Bangladesh's 35 million households lacked access to clean cooking alternatives, affecting both urban and rural areas. This reliance on biomass fuels contributes to significant health and environmental issues, including over 70,000 annual deaths from Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) and a 9 percent loss of tree cover between 2011 and 2019, which equals more than 65Mt of CO2 emissions.
• Biomass fuels remain the primary cooking source for 74 percent of the rural population, including jute stick, wood, bamboo, straw/leaf, and husk/bran. In contrast, electric cookstoves have very low penetration, owned by approximately 300,000 households (about 1 percent of the total), primarily due to high usage costs.
• LPG adoption has seen an annual growth rate of 8–10 percent, supported by government tax exemptions, including a waiver of the 15 percent import duty and a reduction in Advance Income Tax (AIT) from 5 percent to 2 percent. However, piped natural gas (LNG) connections were suspended for households in 2016–17 due to depleting reserves and industrial demand.
• Improved cookstoves (ICS) have a nationwide adoption rate of 10 percent, despite a low-cost recovery period of three to four months. Biogas also presents a significant opportunity due to agricultural waste; by 2018, approximately 102,000 biogas digesters had been installed with subsidies from the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).
• The financing landscape is dominated by development finance institutions (DFIs) and government programs, with a notable absence of private sector participation except in the LPG sector. Major initiatives include the Improved Cook Stove Program by IDCOL, which aimed to install 1 million ICS by 2017 and 5 million by 2021, and the 'Market Development Initiative for Bondhu Chula'.
• The National Action Plan for Clean Cooking in Bangladesh (2020–2030) targets 100 percent clean cooking access by 2030, requiring a total investment of USD 2.9 billion. This comprises USD 0.86 billion from public and private investments and USD 2.01 billion in consumer expenditure financing.
• Significant barriers to clean cooking adoption include 'stove stacking'—where households use both traditional and clean stoves—and a lack of short-term finance for supply-side actors. On the demand side, high interest rates and collateral requirements hinder consumer financing, though microfinance and 'pay as you go' (Paygo) smart metering are identified as potential solutions.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2020). ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2020. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-12/EF-2020-UL-Bangladesh-SEforALL.pdf

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2020. 2020. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-12/EF-2020-UL-Bangladesh-SEforALL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2020 |date=2020 |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-12/EF-2020-UL-Bangladesh-SEforALL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2020energizing, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2020}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2020-12/EF-2020-UL-Bangladesh-SEforALL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }