Bringing clean solar power to communities in Bangladesh

4 Nov 2026 11:15 AM

The UK’s International Climate Finance is helping Bangladesh sustain clean, affordable electricity for millions of people in rural and off-grid communities.

For more than a decade, Bangladesh’s Solar Home System programme has brought reliable, clean electricity to millions of people beyond the reach of the national electricity grid. This has helped households move away from polluting diesel and kerosene.

UK support through the Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev) programme is helping Bangladesh build on this progress. It helps clean energy projects earn income by selling carbon credits, which represent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This  is building the foundations to help projects attract investment, remain financially viable and continue providing clean electricity over the longer term. By valuing solutions that prioritise long-term, environmentally friendly actions, this programme drives the action needed to mitigate climate change.

Around 3.3 million solar home systems have been supported in Bangladesh to date as part of the Ci-Dev programme, overcoming frequent power-cuts and saving household energy bills. To date, the UK’s support has helped more than 10 million people gain improved access to clean energy, installed more than 340 megawatts of clean energy capacity, and reduced more than 1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent to 4% of London’s total emissions for a year.

By helping countries such as Bangladesh develop the capability and systems needed to unlock new sources of finance through carbon markets, UK support contributes to sustainable development and helps ensure that clean energy projects can continue delivering affordable electricity to communities.