Climate Governance and Finance in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh, being one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, ratified both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol from the very beginning. Since the 1970s, the Government, in collaboration with development partners, has invested substantial amounts in flood protection schemes, coastal embankment projects, cyclone shelters, comprehensive disaster management projects, irrigation schemes, agricultural research and coastal ‘greenbelt’ projects. One of its first initiatives was the creation of a Climate Change Unit established within the Department of Environment in 2004 which provided a central focus for the Government’s work on climate change. Bangladesh was the one of the few Least Developed Countries to develop a National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in 2005 in addressing countrywide programs for climate change adaptation in a holistic approach. In 2009, the Government of Bangladesh unveiled the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). In its efforts to ensure adequate investment in building resilience and managing disasters, the government established a Climate Change Trust Fund in 2009 with its own money and the Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) in 2010 with support from development partners. Though Bangladesh has made significant accomplishments in terms of policies to address climate change compared to other developing nations, it still needs to do more to sustain growth. Therefore, it is important to translate the BCCSAP and other relevant policy recommendations into actions across institutions, scale-up the good practices at local level and use indigenous knowledge.