Bangladesh is pressing for increased funding to address climate-induced loss and damage, implement adaptation programmes and expand renewable energy at COP31 in Türkiye's Antalya, while raising concerns over the gap between international commitments and their actual implementation.
It is particularly emphasising effective financing to protect the lives and livelihoods of people in coastal areas, haors, chars and drought-prone regions.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said climate change was causing economic losses of around $15.2 billion annually in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh would highlight its position at the conference and push for greater access to international climate funds for countries facing severe climate risks.
The country’s central demand is that climate finance should not add to its debt burden, but instead come through adequate, predictable and easily accessible grants, he said.
Pledges aplenty, implementation still lagging
For countries like Bangladesh, the effectiveness of a climate conference cannot be measured by declarations and financial pledges alone.
The real test is how much of the promised support reaches vulnerable communities and translates into tangible protection on the ground.
Climate change expert Prof Dr Ainun Nishat believes implementation should be the main focus of this year’s conference, as considerable gaps remain despite political commitments and procedural decisions taken at previous climate summits.
He said establishing funds and financing mechanisms was not enough and effectiveness was needed to be assessed through proper monitoring and evaluation to determine whether the money was being used as intended.
With rising temperatures, natural disasters and climate-related risks expected to intensify, Nishat said climate considerations must be integrated into all development activities rather than being treated as a separate issue.
Bangladeshi climate scientist Dr Atiq Rahman said every country participating in the COP process was a party to the negotiations, and Bangladesh had played an important role in the past as a leading voice of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Although Bangladesh is now in the process of graduating from the LDC category, its experience and role as a former leader and spokesperson of the group remain important in international climate negotiations, he said.
Rahman stressed that attention should not be limited to the decisions reached at the negotiating table; countries must also monitor what changes those decisions bring during implementation.
Loan-dependent climate finance raises alarm
The growing dependence on loans in Bangladesh’s climate financing has been highlighted in a study by Change Initiative, which raises questions about the sustainability of the country’s transition to renewable energy.
Mofazzal Hossain, research coordinator at the organisation, said loans accounted for 90.4 percent of total investment in Bangladesh’s renewable energy sector since 2000.
According to the research, Bangladesh received a total of $2.54 billion in climate finance for its energy sector. Of this amount, $880 million went to coal- and gas-based power plants, including those at Matarbari and Bheramara.
The study also warns that if the existing financing pattern continues, per capita debt in the renewable energy sector could reach $105 by 2040. Bangladesh’s current per capita climate debt across all sectors stands at around $80.
The organisation has proposed establishing a national financing mechanism titled the ‘Renewable Energy Sovereignty Facility’ to reduce dependence on new public borrowing and expand investment in clean energy.
According to the organisation, the facility could mobilise $7.69 billion in investment in the renewable energy sector between 2026 and 2030.
It could also reduce new government borrowing from $4.6 billion to $800 million.
As a result, per capita debt in the renewable energy sector could fall from $105 to $24 by 2040, representing a reduction of around 77%, the organisation said.
Bangladesh pushes for grants, easier access to funds
Bangladesh is making grant-based climate finance a central demand at COP31, arguing that vulnerable countries should not have to take on additional debt to address a crisis they have contributed relatively little to creating.
Saimum Parvez, special assistant to the Prime Minister on Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said Bangladesh would strongly raise the need for adequate grant-based financing at the conference.
“Our demand is to increase grants for adaptation and addressing climate-induced losses and damage without adding to the debt burden, and to simplify the application and approval processes for climate funds,” he said.
He said the Bangladesh delegation would coordinate its position with the LDC group, the G77 and other like-minded climate-vulnerable countries to protect the country’s interests.
Several meetings had already been held to coordinate the country’s position, while the Prime Minister would also outline Bangladesh’s priorities in his address, he said.
Bangladeshi experts are also raising various climate-related issues at the conference, Parvez added.
Adaptation, energy transition among key priorities
Bangladesh has placed several issues at the centre of its negotiating agenda, with particular emphasis on securing financing without creating further debt.
These include implementing adaptation programmes and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), securing funds to address climate-induced losses and damage, and making access to the Green Climate Fund easier.
The country is also seeking greater investment in renewable energy, a just transition away from fossil fuels, technology transfer and capacity building.
Other priorities include early warning systems and climate-resilient infrastructure in coastal areas, as well as financial support for non-economic losses such as displacement, loss of livelihoods and damage to cultural heritage.
