Every few days, Bazlur Rashid Shawon spends hours waiting in line with his motorcycle to buy petrol. Six litres used to last him two weeks, but with many fuel stations limiting sales to two litres per customer, he has to queue up more often.
“The long hours waiting under the sun drain my energy and take away precious time from my busy days,” the 32-year-old pharmaceutical company employee told Climate Home News as he waited in a traffic jam on the way to work in the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh relies heavily on imports to meet its fuel needs and it has been badly affected by disruption in global energy markets since the start of the Iran war. Striving to stem demand for petrol and diesel, the government has ordered reduced working hours at offices and malls, while many fuel stations have been shut due to shortages.
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Nepal’s EV revolution pays off as oil crisis causes pain at the pumps
Import subsidies, abundant hydropower and charging investments have spurred EV adoption, with electric vehicles now making up about three-quarters of new car sales
The crisis could, however, give momentum to Bangladesh’s nascent efforts to ramp up electric transportation in the country of 175 million people, following in the footsteps of South Asian EV leaders such as Nepal.
Among the government’s energy-saving measures, it said it would scrap duties on imported electric buses for schools.
New NDC maps rising EV ambitions
In its latest national climate plan, Bangladesh says it wants electric cars to account for 30% of the market by 2035. By the same year, a quarter of the buses circulating on the capital’s roads should be electric, according to the country’s updated nationally determined contribution (NDC).
While the country has a long way to go on EV adoption, there are signs that the global oil shock triggered by the Middle East conflict has stirred interest among consumers.
Nepal’s EV revolution pays off as oil crisis causes pain at the pumps
In the capital, Dhaka, dealers of electric cars, scooters and three-wheelers told Climate Home News they had seen a rise in sales and customer enquiries over the last month.
Mohammad Salauddin, who has been in the Dhaka e-bike business for 10 years, said demand was weak when he started: only one or two bikes a month from his showroom in the city’s Hazaribagh area. With the fuel crunch, sales have risen to about 20 bikes a month.
He has now expanded his business, setting up another showroom elsewhere in the city, and said demand is outpacing supply.
“The demand will only rise in the coming days as people see the benefits of electric transport,” he said.
South Asia’s EV laggard
But despite the optimism of EV retailers, Bangladesh’s electric transport ambitions face numerous challenges – from scant charging infrastructure and policy incentives to high purchase costs and hesitance among consumers.
Bangladesh is a laggard on EV adoption in South Asia. EVs account for less than 1% of new vehicle sales, much lower than in neighbouring India, where statistics put EV penetration at about 8%. In Nepal, electric vehicles now make up about three-quarters of new car sales.
Registered e-bikes are few and far between and electric cars remain a niche segment. Millions of electric three-wheelers operate on the roads, but most of them are unregistered.
Last year, the government slashed import duties on components for e-bikes manufacturing and drafted a national electric vehicle policy spelling out incentives for manufacturing and importing EVs. But the policy is still waiting to be approved.
Growth barriers
Even if government policies are fully implemented, EV adoption faces other hurdles in Bangladesh.
Fuwad Hossain Saddam, who works at Keraniganj on the outskirts of Dhaka, has an e-bike and says it is the best option for short trips, but not for longer journeys.
“For commuting to the office, taking children to parks, or going to the market for shopping – e-bike,” he said. “For long distances, petrol-powered transport is the way to go.”
“Petrol is unlimited, e-bike is limited,” he said, adding that his older model stretches to only about 50 kilometres (30 miles) on a full charge, with charging taking six to seven hours.
Lack of charging infrastructure is one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption in Bangladesh, which has only 112 formal EV charging stations, though the count varies depending on how charging points are defined, said Nayeem Hossain, head of EV sales at Trade Intercontinental.
Most EVs in the country use lead-acid batteries, as opposed to faster-charging and longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries, he said, suggesting that battery-swapping facilities at fuel stations would be a quick way to encourage EV usage and adoption.
“This could enable people to rapidly increase the range and mileage of their EVs,” he said.
Offering a subsidised charging rate for EVs could also spur take-up and tackle use of unauthorised electricity connections – commonly used by the country’s legions of unregistered electric three-wheelers.
High initial purchase costs also make EVs a distant dream for many would-be buyers in Bangladesh, where the average monthly wage is 18,000 taka (about $146).
Raja Chowdhury, 35, a businessman, has used an electric scooter for seven years. He said he was happy with his purchase, but added that it was not something everyone can afford.
“If the budget allows, choose lithium; if not, start with acid batteries and save to upgrade later,” he said.
Until upfront costs come down and charging becomes easier, many riders like Shawon will delay making the switch to electric.
“For the time being, waiting in line for fuel seems to be the only option for me,” Shawon said.
The post Charging worries, high prices put brakes on EV growth in Bangladesh appeared first on Climate Home News.
Charging worries, high prices put brakes on EV growth in Bangladesh
After witnessing and hearing stories of Pacific islands’ vulnerability to climate change, senior climate officials have promised to strengthen efforts to limit global warming to 1.5C, despite an expected overshoot, and to help the region adapt to rising seas and other impacts.
More than 30 world leaders, ministers, climate negotiators and international development bankers travelled to the sinking atoll nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday before attending the pre-COP31 talks in Fiji, where schoolchildren told them about the effects warming-driven droughts, heatwaves and storms are having on their education.
Australia and the Pacific nations hoped to use the pre-COP to reinforce the urgency of tackling climate change to the officials from around 50 countries who travelled to the region. Fiji’s climate minister, Lynda Tabuya, told a closing press conference on Thursday they had wanted to “bring decision-makers to the climate frontlines”.
Many of those decision-makers said they had been moved by what they had seen and heard this week, and their speeches emphasised the importance of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, a key goal of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
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In September, a UN report acknowledged that the 1.5C threshold will be breached but said temperatures could still be brought back down to that level by the end of the century with stepped-up climate action.
A month ago, Türkiye‘s COP31 President Murat Kurum told a press conference in the northern Turkish city of Trabzon that limiting global warming to 1.5C “does not really look possible”, adding that “around 1.5C, that will be a success”.
But after seeing the “anxiety” of children and mothers in Tuvalu caused by rising sea levels, Kurum told reporters in Fiji that 1.5C is a “matter of survival – the survival of cultures, history, memories, your homeland, your homes – it’s that important.”
“The 1.5C target is in jeopardy and we do not have a single minute, a single day to lose,” he added through an interpreter.
Jacobo Ocharan, head of political strategies at Climate Action Network International, warned that “words of concern will not protect anyone”. “The Pacific has shown the world what is at stake. Now governments must show they are ready to act,” he said. “[COP31 in] Antalya must deliver decisions that change people’s lives for the better.”
$1.5 billion for 1.5C
In Fiji, Kurum echoed the call of Australia and Pacific nations for contributions to the fledgling Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), which aims to use the returns on its investments to fund community climate adaptation projects like water storage, building sea walls and protecting homes from storms. “$1.5 billion for 1.5 degrees will save the Pacific,” he said. “It’s that easy. Life will continue in Tuvalu. Children will be smiling again.”
Sitting next to him, Fiji’s Tabuya said she was “encouraged” by his words. “$1.5 billion for 1.5. We will hold COP 31 to that,” she said. The PRF has been promised just under $200 million so far – including about $15 million pledged by European and Pacific governments at pre-COP – and is aiming for $500 million by COP31. It has a longer-term target of mobilising $1.5 billion in capital.
After Pacific leaders on Tuesday aired a litany of concerns about the barriers to accessing the global climate finance system, Kurum joined in at Thursday’s press conference. “Justice in climate finance is essential,” he said. “Resources must reach those in need in a timely and accessible manner, not through a lot of red-tape, and we cannot accept that the same countries should always bear the burden.”
Plan for easier access to climate finance
Australian climate and energy minister Chris Bowen, who is COP31’s president of negotiations, also lamented that “the countries that need the finance the most get it the least”. He said he would ask governments and multilateral development banks to support an access to finance plan for small island states and the world’s poorest nations, launched by Australia on Thursday.
The plan says that while there has been progress in making it easier and quicker to obtain international climate funding, “multiple persistent challenges have continued to limit access to climate finance for developing countries”.
It adds that the amounts available are insufficient to meet climate goals and stresses the need for “grant-based and highly concessional financing”, especially for adaptation and responding to loss and damage. The plan proposes an annual high-level forum on climate finance access to track implementation.
The pre-COP summit closed with an emotional plea from Fiji’s host minister Tabuya. Fighting back tears before finally succumbing, she asked delegates to “carry something of the Pacific with you”.
“Remember the people you met, the stories you heard and why we gathered. This pre-COP draws to a close tonight. Our responsibility does not,” she said to applause.
The post Pre-COP draws attention to Pacific’s climate plight and 1.5C goal appeared first on Climate Home News.
Pre-COP draws attention to Pacific’s climate plight and 1.5C goal
Climate Change
Australia’s climate credibility tested at Pacific Pre-COP talks, as High Court fossil fuel ruling puts government on notice
NADI, FIJI Thursday 8 October 2026 — As the Pacific Pre-COP talks wrap up and Australia prepares to take the reins of COP31 Negotiations in Türkiye next month, Greenpeace Australia Pacific says the government is on notice over fossil fuel expansion and exports, and must accelerate action to align with a 1.5°C pathway.
Following yesterday’s landmark High Court ruling that the climate impacts of coal and gas exports must be considered by New South Wales planning authorities, Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on the Albanese government to find the “courage, leadership and grit” to chart a new course away from fossil fuels.
High res images and video from yesterday’s ‘Keep 1.5C Alive’ flotilla in Nadi can be found here
Speaking from Nadi, Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:
“The outcomes of this week’s talks are a drop in the ocean given the scale of need, and urgency of the crisis our communities are facing. It is like taking a glass of water to a burning house if we do not urgently act to address the root cause of the existential threat facing Tuvalu, Fiji and all Pacific countries: fossil fuel expansion.
“The Electrification Pledge must end fossil fuel dependence, not be an end in itself — its ultimate success depends on ensuring electricity comes from renewable sources that displace fossil fuels and align with a 1.5°C pathway. It must be underpinned by justice and backed by finance flowing from polluters to communities.
“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is a non-negotiable survival line for humanity and Australia must act. The landmark climate advisory ruling from the ICJ is clear — 1.5°C is the moral, the scientific and the legal limit. Continuing down the fossil fuel path, and failing to align efforts with limiting warming to 1.5°C, is a breach of our international legal obligations, and risks making Australia liable for future reparations from climate-vulnerable nations.”
Also in Nadi, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead and climate expert at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The Pacific was never going to be a mere backdrop for Australia in its role as incoming chair of the COP31 climate talks, but where its credibility and commitment to climate leadership would be tested.
“Here we see communities fighting for their survival and doing everything possible to hold the line on returning warming to 1.5°C. When governments profess to take their concerns seriously, only to then throw more fuel on the fire, the pain and sadness is visceral.
“This week the High Court of Australia recognised what the Federal Government refuses to — that Australia is responsible for the climate damage of our fossil fuel exports and if governments don’t act, the courts will intervene. The message is simple: this is not someone else’s problem, it is ours.
“We must now follow other countries in developing a national roadmap away from fossil fuels that ensures a managed wind-down of fossil fuel production, including exports, in line with our legal obligation to help return warming to 1.5°C.”
ENDS
Media contact: Kate O’Callaghan in Nadi on +61 406 231 892 (Whatsapp/Signal)
A Dutch NGO has filed the first climate complaint under the European Union’s trade rules, arguing that New Zealand violated the environmental provisions of its free trade agreement with the bloc by weakening its climate regulations.
The case will test whether binding climate provisions in the EU’s free trade deals can be enforced to hold governments accountable to their climate obligations, experts told Climate Home News.
The EU-New Zealand free trade agreement, which came into force in 2024, was the first in the world to include legally-binding climate provisions and possible sanctions for violating them, as the EU seeks to use its trade partnerships to advance greater environmental protection.
Under the deal, both parties committed not to weaken their environmental law to promote trade or investment and to “refrain from any action or omission that materially defeats the object and purpose of the Paris Agreement”.
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International trade linked to 20% of global emissions – but imports ignored
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