CHATTOGRAM, Aug 28: Lack of transparency, institutional capacity and research study has lagged behind Bangladesh to achieve more climate finance globally, experts said. And pandemic minimises the fund as well.
Having all criteria of climate vulnerability according to Green Climate Fund Bangladesh yet too far behind to receive any money for climate damage due to lack of solid groundwork, accountability and trust.
Shamsuddoha, Chief Executive of Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) said Bangladesh has to improve fiduciary management to exceed the global fund. Some projects have been implemented under the fund of Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) but those are indirectly related to climate change.
There is no allocation for climate emergency by the government side which is the result of lack of qualitative research study about the main reasons for climate digesters, he added.
'Anticipation of enough study' is one of the major problems for Bangladesh, he said adding that lack of proper study and explanation, Bangladesh always leaves behind the race of getting Green Climate Fund.
He also accepted that Pandemic minimised the fund but yet some global organizations are willing to finance climate issues in Bangladesh.
Although 2020 can be a notable year for climate action if the pandemic does not hit and either change the scenario of the world economy. Bangladesh is one of the most active countries among others who are at risk of climate vulnerability, in terms of planning and action on climate change.
The COVID-19 emergency will inevitably take priority followed by an economic downturn on all finances nationally and globally for some time to come, said Dr Saleemul Haq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University.
He also said that preparation is now underway for COP26, which is supposed to be held this November, hosted by the United Kingdom has postponed due to the pandemic and rescheduled to next year.
Considering the postponement of COP26 by a year was understandable, Huq appreciated that it should be allowed an opportunity for Bangladesh along with the other countries to prepare for significant action going forward.
According to Article 2.1Cr of the Paris Agreement 2015 commits all countries under the same umbrella to keep the financial flow smooth with the promise of low greenhouse gas emission and development of climate resilience. In reality, Global climate finance has been soaring and comparing 2017 and 2018, the amount crossed the half-trillion-dollar, almost 25 percent increase from 2015 to 2016.
But climate experts predict that COVID-19 might halt the flow because all countries are now paying attention to mitigation of the pandemic's impact on public health and economy rather which could derail the priority of climate finance.
Meanwhile, when the country is struggling with the Covid-19, the climate crisis-inspect super cyclone Amphan demolished the coastal part of the Bangladesh map, affecting millions of people in the middle of the year.
Floods in July and August affecting at least five million people in the country and put as much as a third of the delta region underwater, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.
According to the Planning Commission source, Bangladesh is expecting the World Bank to approve US$2 billion (US$207 billion) in loan to fund climate adaptation plans, with the first instalment coming early next year. The funds will go towards a Delta Plan 2100, helping to reduce the damage the country's waterbody and estuaries can cause during floods.
Political domination on funding decisions become the key concern for the good governance of climate financing in Bangladesh, said Mahbubur Rahman, Research and Advocacy Officer of Network on Climate Change in Bangladesh.
Updating the Climate Change Trust Act 2010, he said that Bangladesh must improve its financial management capacity to get direct access to the international climate change fund rather than any loan.
