Bangladesh has experienced catastrophic storms and floods in recent years, causing millions of dollars of damage. Millions of people are forced to relocate as a result of drought and water scarcity in some areas of the country, which affect irrigation and drinking water.
The Bangladesh economy is more vulnerable to climate change than most other nations, according to the 2015 Climate Change Vulnerability Index. It has committed over $10 billion to projects addressing climate change, including fortifying homes and river embankments, changing farming techniques, and so on. Some of these adaptation strategies, like floating agriculture, have got recognition on a global scale.
Bangladesh and other developing nations have long maintained, as recognized in the field of climate diplomacy, that rich countries bear moral responsibility for climate change and should compensate for damages caused by it through a special "loss and damage" system. The nations whose citizens are suffering from the effects of climate change brought on by other nations ought to be compensated.
A report on global climate finance released on November 2, 2023, by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) estimates that additional climate finance needs to be $1.265 trillion per year, compared to an earlier total estimate of $10 trillion from now until 2050. Worse for developing countries, much of this finance is available for mitigation, not for adaptation, which amounts to about $63bn (29.71%) per year, far less (70.29%) than the required $212bn as per the CPI estimates needed for adaptation.
Low-income nations have received that finance in the form of loans rather than grants or other forms of assistance. The primary discontent is that developing nations are falling into a new debt trap as a result of adaptation funding. Campaigners are opposing these offers of loans in Bangladesh and other countries where they are pleading with their governments to stop taking on more loans related to climate change.
As Covid-19 damaged economies, further offering climate loans to Bangladesh through the World Bank and other development partners is a deplorable expectation that will only make the situation worse. The goal of loans for climate adaptation is to assist nations in mitigating the most severe effects of global warming. No new resources will be created to repay them because those are not meant to finance projects that generate revenue.
“It is unjust of the world to expect climate-vulnerable countries to pay such a heavy price for the emissions of others," claimed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. The straightforward demand of developing nations is to double adaptation funding by 2025 in order to prepare better for the floods, droughts, and other natural disasters that climate change is bringing about.
To secure a reasonable and equitable solution to climate change, people in recipient nations like Bangladesh and developed countries like the UK, which is a major actor, must work together. The problems of poverty and climate change will not be solved; rather, these countries will become worse by paying back lending countries’ interests.
COP28 pledged to raise funds. Meanwhile, environmentalists participating in the summit mentioned that all the other important commitments to tackle climate change could be overshadowed if future conferences only focus on climate financing.
We are not a high-carbon emitting country but a helpless victim to the effects of carbon emissions. Bangladesh's most current National Adaptation Plan states that $230bn in financing will be needed between 2023 and 2050 to adopt adaptation measures. Nevertheless, between FY15 and FY22, the government of Bangladesh's budgetary allotment for climate change increased by a mere 1.1%.
The pursuit of grant-based or highly concessional climate aid, along with the renegotiating and restructuring of current development loans, would significantly alleviate the strain on Bangladesh's budgetary space.
Funding for climate adaptation should be designed to prevent adverse effects on vulnerable and marginalized groups in society. Accessing international climate finance continues to be a significant barrier, despite Bangladesh's pressing need for funding. Strict eligibility requirements prohibit Bangladeshi organizations from being eligible for any of the current global climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Adaptation Fund (AF).
Bangladesh has only been able to obtain $1.2 billion from different climate programs as of 2022. By 2050, Bangladesh won't be able to meet its needs for adaptation financing at this rate. Bangladesh has to argue for more liberal eligibility standards and seek international capacity-building support to make its adaptation initiatives eligible for this funding and overcome this impediment.
Abeer Hossain Kanta is a Researcher (Environment and Climate Change Division), Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Trust, email: [email protected].
