Compensation, not loan

Rights activists have demanded that the fund for combating climate change impacts on Bangladesh caused by industrialised nations through severe emissions of green house gas has to be acknowledged as compensation package, not loans. Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN), Committee of Concerned Citizens, and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday raised an 11-point demand regarding climate change at a press conference in Dhaka Reporters Unity, ahead of the Conference of Parties (COP22) on November 7-18 in Morocco. CLEAN Executive Director Hasan Mehedi read out the demands, which include immediate cut of emission by developed and advanced developing countries; paying reparations to the most vulnerable communities directly through state and other local actors and transferring technology with full rights for accelerating adaptation and mitigation. Stressing that the victims’ voice must be heard, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said: “World Bank president recently visited Bangladesh and wanted to take credit that they would provide a $2 billion loan to Bangladesh as climate finance over the next three years.” Observing that this would increase the burden of loans, the noted economist said: “This burden of debt will be imposed on those in the coastal areas who have already been suffering from the adverse effects of climate change. This is not acceptable. “The international institutions that want to help fight impacts of climate change should pay the exchequer of this fight as compensation, never as loans.”