Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Saturday urged the government to allocate Tk1,000 crore in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 to combat growing impact of climate change.
The rights and anti-corruption watchdog also demanded transparency, accountability and proper utilization of the fund to be allocated for fighting the climate change related issues.
Bangladesh has received laud from the global as well as domestic community for its timely and multipurpose steps to combat climate change impact, says a statement issued yesterday.
Bangladesh has formed Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund and has been allocating fund from the budget since 2009-10.
“Since the formation of Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, the government allocated Tk700 crore per year during the first three years,” said Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).
However, the budget allocation did not increase in line with the rise of climate change related risks rather decreased gradually, he said.
The decline in amount of fund allocation against the increased risk of climate change was a great concern, said Iftekharuzzaman.
"In meeting deficit of fund to mitigate the risk climate change impact, we are urging the government to allocate Tk1000 crore for the fund in the next budget," he added.
In addition, Iftekharuzzaman also demanded proper steps and guideline to ensure accountability and transparency in the spending of the allocated funds.
