The international financial support received so far for addressing climate change in Bangladesh is negligible, Country Representative of the IUCN Bangladesh Shaikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan has said.
He said the developed countries are committed to allocating $100 billion per year by 2020 through to 2025 for addressing climate change in the most vulnerable developing countries. But this target has not been fulfilled yet.
“Moreover, in accordance with the climate finance negotiation, climate finance is supposed to be new and additional to official development assistance (ODA). However, in most of the cases, climate finance is merged with ODA by developed countries,” he said.
He was presenting a paper at a seminar titled “Bangladesh’s Climate Resilience and Financing: Challenges, Opportunities and Way Forward” organized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) on Monday at its auditorium.
Speakers at the seminar opined that to address this issue, Bangladesh needs to improve its fiscal space and pursue grant-based or concessional climate assistance, as well as renegotiate and restructure existing development loans.
Nahim Razzaq MP, convenor of the Climate Parliament Bangladesh, was present at the seminar as the chief guest. Major General Md Abu Bakar Siddique Khan, director general, BIISS, delivered the welcome address. Ambassador AFM Gousal Azam Sarker, chairman, BIISS, moderated the session.
Dr Sufia Khanom, senior research fellow of BIISS delivered a presentation on “Financing for Climate Resilience: Context and Issues” while Dr Mohammad Abu Yusuf, additional secretary at Finance Division, delivered a presentation on “Innovative Financial Mechanisms”.
Senior officials from different ministries, diplomatic missions, media, researchers, academics, businesspeople, representatives from different think tanks and international organizations, and teachers and students from various universities participated in the seminar.
Bangladesh is continually listed globally as one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change.
The country’s vulnerability to climate change is largely attributed to its geography, which makes it particularly susceptible to natural disasters and rising sea levels.
A dense population, dependence on agriculture for livelihood, and weak adaptive capacity add to its vulnerability to climate change impacts.
However, Bangladesh is relentlessly trying to strengthen its adaptive capacity.
The country has integrated climate change into its national legal and policy framework, placing a stronger emphasis on conservation of the environment, biodiversity, and protection of people.
Despite its efforts, accessing international climate finance remains a major challenge for Bangladesh, with strict eligibility criteria preventing agencies from qualifying for global climate funds like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Adaptation Fund (AF).
Furthermore, global climate finance on adaptation remains insignificant.
So far, Bangladesh has received only $34.42 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) which was established in 2001.
Climate finance refers to local, national or international financing drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing to support mitigation and adaptation actions for combating climate change.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement are the legal basis of Climate Finance.
