Experts seek more funds in national budget to combat climate change

The allocation made in the budget to combat the risks and damage associated with climate change is not sufficient, experts said. They urged the government to hike the allocation for quality initiatives in the upcoming national budget to mitigate the risks. According to experts, the government should impart focus to community-level preparedness rather than response and recovery. They demanded increased allocation for disaster and climate change preparedness.

The experts were speaking at a press conference jointly organised by ActionAid Bangladesh and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the city’s National Press Club.

Pointing out that Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk of the adverse impacts of climate change, they noted that it is also one of the countries most resilient to disasters in the world. The experts expressed apprehensions that the growth rate may slow down and all the development gains may fail as a result of climate change.

ActionAid Bangladesh country director Farah Kabir, chief of the climate change resilient division of ActionAid Bangladesh Tanjir Hossain, ICCCAD director Dr Salimul Haque, academic of North South University’s department of environmental science and management Prof. Mizan R Khan and others spoke at the press conference.

They noted that last year’s massive flooding in the ‘haor’ areas had badly affected the rural economy, infrastructure and agriculture, including standing crops and freshwater fisheries. This year, once again, inadequate preparations—in terms of combating an early monsoon and heavy downpour—would again hamper agricultural production, equivalent to an estimated 0.5 to 1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), they observed.

Bangladesh is committed to addressing the risks and vulnerabilities induced by climate change in its development agenda, they said, adding that as part of its commitment, the government has adopted the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP), which reflects its priority agenda.

The two organisations has welcome the government’s initiatives to publish its first report on climate-sensitive budget analysis, where it outlined the trend of climate relevance in six selected ministries showing a 4.4 per cent increase in the development budget in FY 17–18 compared to FY 14–15. They also urged the government to share the expenditure analysis while providing a rigorous analysis of all ministries and projects receiving climate finance.

 

Experts seek more funds in national budget to combat climate change

The allocation made in the budget to combat the risks and damage associated with climate change is not sufficient, experts said. They urged the government to hike the allocation for quality initiatives in the upcoming national budget to mitigate the risks. According to experts, the government should impart focus to community-level preparedness rather than response and recovery. They demanded increased allocation for disaster and climate change preparedness. The experts were speaking at a press conference jointly organised by ActionAid Bangladesh and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the citys National Press Club. Pointing out that Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk of the adverse impacts of climate change, they noted that it is also one of the countries most resilient to disasters in the world. The experts expressed apprehensions that the growth rate may slow down and all the development gains may fail as a result of climate change. ActionAid Bangladesh country director Farah Kabir, chief of the climate change resilient division of ActionAid Bangladesh Tanjir Hossain, ICCCAD director Dr Salimul Haque, academic of North South Universitys department of environmental science and management Prof. Mizan R Khan and others spoke at the press conference. They noted that last years massive flooding in the haor areas had badly affected the rural economy, infrastructure and agriculture, including standing crops and freshwater fisheries. This year, once again, inadequate preparationsin terms of combating an early monsoon and heavy downpourwould again hamper agricultural production, equivalent to an estimated 0.5 to 1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), they observed. Bangladesh is committed to addressing the risks and vulnerabilities induced by climate change in its development agenda, they said, adding that as part of its commitment, the government has adopted the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP), which reflects its priority agenda. The two organisations has welcome the governments initiatives to publish its first report on climate-sensitive budget analysis, where it outlined the trend of climate relevance in six selected ministries showing a 4.4 per cent increase in the development budget in FY 1718 compared to FY 1415. They also urged the government to share the expenditure analysis while providing a rigorous analysis of all ministries and projects receiving climate finance.