Environmental campaigners in Cox’s Bazar demanded withdrawal of taxes on solar panels and renewable energy equipment, warning high import costs are slowing clean energy adoption and worsening Bangladesh’s growing energy crisis.
Environmental and renewable energy campaigners in Cox’s Bazar on Saturday called for the immediate withdrawal of taxes and duties on solar panels and related equipment, saying high import costs are pushing clean energy technology beyond the reach of ordinary and undermining Bangladesh’s energy security.
The demand came at a public gathering and human chain held in Cox’s Bazar on May 24, 2026, organized by Songshoptok Cox’s Bazar, CLEAN and BWGED.
Speakers at the programme said existing import taxes on solar panels and associated equipment were obstructing the expansion of renewable energy technology in Bangladesh at a time when the country was facing a deepening energy crisis.
They said the cost of producing electricity from imported gas, coal and oil continued to drive up expenditure and subsidies in the power sector. Against that backdrop, they noted that the Bangladesh Power Development Board, or PDB, had again proposed raising electricity tariffs by about 21 percent, a move they said would place fresh economic pressure on ordinary people.
The speakers said renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar, could offer a sustainable and long-term solution to the country’s energy challenges. However, they said the prices of solar panels, inverters, batteries and other equipment had risen abnormally because of high import duties and taxes.
As a result, ordinary consumers, small business owners and middle-income families were finding it difficult to adopt solar technology even when they wanted to, they said.
The speakers demanded the immediate removal of all taxes and duties on solar panels and all equipment related to renewable energy. They also urged the government to ensure special incentives, tax breaks and easy loan facilities for the renewable energy sector in the upcoming national budget.
Among those who addressed the programme were Advocate Abdur Shukkur, joint convener of the Cox’s Bazar district committee of the Human Rights Defenders Forum, human rights activist and prominent lawyer, Advocate Mofizul Alam, Monthehlya Rakhine, general secretary of the Rakhine Sustainable Development Organization, Help Youth Club President Ibrahim Babu, prominent student leader Humayun Kabir Himu, Arif Ullah, founder of Student Platform Bangladesh and journalist Anwar Hossain.
The human chain was conducted by Mizanur Rahman Bahadur.
The programme was held at an important location in Cox’s Bazar and ended with a brief rally. Environmental activists, students, renewable energy entrepreneurs, representatives of civil society and members of the public took part.
The organisers said the continued taxation of solar equipment was slowing the spread of clean energy in Bangladesh and increasing risks to the country’s long-term energy security.
