Dhaka, June 14 – Bangladesh Greens at a press conference on Thursday called for a focus on climate resilient infrastructure development for climate Financing in the upcoming national budget for 2018-19 fiscal year. They criticised the government for terming the traditional development allocations as climate finance and called for ensuring adequate and additional new allocations for climate resilient economy and building adaptive capacity of coastal people.
EquityBD, a civil society organization, organised the press conference at the national press club in the city.
Moderated by M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Chief Moderator of EquityBD , the press conference was attended among the others, by Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, President-Forum of Environment Journalists of Bangladesh, Motahar Hossain, Secretary-Climate Change Journalist Forum, Mrinal Kanti of Bangladesh Indigenous People Network on Climate Change and Badrul Alam of Bangladesh agriculture federation. Key demand was read out by Syed Aminul Hoque of EquityBD.
Presenting the key demand, Syed Aminul Hoque said, this is good that government is preparing a report on climate finance but observation showing on 2018-19 proposed budget for climate finance amount BDT 18,948 crore (8.82% of proposed budget).
Following this observation, the group made four recommendation for 2018-19 new budget , including ensuring of new and additional budget as climate finance out of traditional allocation, expediting of the preparation of NAP-National Adaptation Plan with mass participation and ensure budget for required adaptation finance, and to ensure transparency and accountability of climate finance along with BCCTF-Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund.
Speaking the Press Conference, Quamrul Islam said that the proposed climate finance is inadequate to fight climate change impact.
He recommended to build up NIEs (National Implementing Entities) capacity to mobilize additional global finance that ease govt. to more support on climate finance.
Rezaul Karim opined, that government should follow its own climate change strategy plan, identify the climate hot spots for appropriate climate action and allocate budget accordingly through setting priority to develop specific climate resilient infrastructure.
Badrul Alam said that implementing climate finance activities under “Trust Fund” is questionable to mass as this has hardly impact in climate change arena. Even this year government didn’t allocate money for this fund which is a setback for implementing climate change action plans, he said.
He demand to engage the mass with the process, implementation and monitoring of trust fund.
Motahar Hossain said cyclone SIDR and Aila has damaged major part of coastal embankments those we need to construct with new high to face tidal surge. Apart salinity is a new problem looming cause of mass displacement. Government should give importance these issues and increase budgetary allocation, he said. – Staff Reporter
