Environment Minister Md Shahab Uddin has emphasized the urgent need for predictable and sufficient grant-based public financing for climate adaptation in vulnerable developing countries like Bangladesh.
He also stressed the importance of developed nations fulfilling their commitment to mobilize $100 billion annually through 2025, while addressing the past three years' shortfall (2020-2022), during a ministerial preparation meeting held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, as part of pre-COP28 proceedings on Monday.
Members of the Bangladesh delegation, including Saber Hossain Chowdhury, special envoy to the prime minister on the environment and climate change, were also in attendance.
Shahab Uddin stressed the need for clear mechanisms to timely report and account for the delivery of climate financing commitments, saying failure to do so could erode trust and hinder progress.
He called for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance to be significantly higher than the previous $100 billion per year target, focusing on grants rather than loans and reflecting the actual needs of developing nations to adapt to climate change's inevitable impacts.
The environment minister urged parties to agree on a clear definition of climate finance that enhances the accountability and transparency of climate and non-climate financial flows.
He said the outcome of COP28 should emphasize the responsibility of developed countries to lead in providing and mobilizing climate finance for developing nations.
