A coalition of 39 civil society organizations bannered under Climate Justice Alliance-Bangladesh called for the cancellation of the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) 2022-2041.
They considered that the plan was formulated in an undemocratic process and designed solely to implement the political ambitions of the then government.
They also demanded radical reform of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund- BCCTF and the Climate Change Trust Fund Act to prevent syndicated corruption in funding decisions and implementation.
The alliance made this demand in a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka.
The Alliance, which frequently raises critical concerns for a rights-based policy response to the impacts of climate change, appreciates the notion of the current interim government on the structural reform that would ensure justice and equitable development across the societies. Aligning with the border reform agendas, the Alliance emphasizes an urgent need to revise, extend, and reform the existing climate plans and policies to ensure that they are just and equitable.
They questioned the undemocratic practices of the planning process dominated by the ‘syndicated interest’ of the political government, its allied bureaucrats, and elite consultants.
The Alliance termed the existing plans and policies undemocratically developed and prone to corruption in their implementation.
Md Shamsudohha, coordinator of Climate Justice Alliance-Bangladesh provided a brief overview of the political economy context of the developing country’s key climate plans, which include Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) 2022-2041, National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023-2050, Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), up to 2030, etc.,
He also provided an explanation how Bangladesh’s Climate Change Trust Fund, resourced from country’s revenue income, tuned to a worst example of political domination and syndicated corruption supported by the immunity of the Trust Fund Act.
The MCPP was developed exclusively by foreign consultants under the sole supervision of the previous government's Chief Coordinator of SDG affairs and without any broader consultation with relevant stakeholders. Given that the plan carried the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, offering critical feedback was a highly sensitive matter. MCPP estimated US$170.95 billion for implementing cost, of which US$140.2 billion is for infrastructure development and loan-based. Without any feasibility assessment, the plan estimated US$27.1 billion for a 4-gigawatt wind power generation project in the Bay of Bengal.
Md Shamsuddoha referred to the unjustified composition of the Climate Change Trust Fund Board Among the 17 Trustee Board members, 14 are Ministers who usually consider political interest while compromising the critical adaptation needs of the climate-vulnerable people. In practice, the legal document of the fund’s operation and implementation – the Trust Fund Act— has ensured the all-out dominance of the politically biased bureaucrats and the ruling party, creating a favorable environment for unabated corruption.
Referring to the massive devastation of the recent flash flood, Prof Ahmed Kamruzzaman Mazumder of Stamford University criticizes the loopholes in Bangladesh’s National Adaptation Plan that the plan has not been developed in the context of vulnerability arising from the country’s geographical diversity. He called for the localization of the National Adaptation Plan and the formulation of a Local Adaptation Plan by assessing location-specific climate vulnerabilities.
Md Nashir Uddin Faruk, deputy executive director of Shushilan, pointed out that there has been a lack of coordination among government agencies and between government and non-government entities, a lack of good governance, and a tendency to corruption in project implementation, and issues with ensuring finance flow to areas and communities with higher vulnerability, etc. Therefore, he urged for the revision, extension, and reformation of the climate plans and policies formulated so far, as a part of the reform campaign for the forward march towards democratization.
Tamanna Rahman, Thematic Lead- Climate and Resilience at Practical Action called for developing the NDC-3 through a participatory and transparent process and demanded a reasonable timeline for achieving the long-term goal of a Net-Zero Economy.
Among those who spoke at the event were Md Ahsanul Wahed, DM of MJF; Farhan Hossin Joy, Research Consultant at Nagorik Uddyog; and several senior officials in leading positions from prominent civil society organizations and development agencies.
