TIB against taking soft loans from Green Climate Fund

�It�s unethical to use GCF as profitable investment or business�

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday expressed concern over the interest expressed by the government to obtain soft loans from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), instead of receiving grants, even though there is such a consensus among developed nations.
On Sunday, finance minister AMA Muhith had said that the government has no problem with taking soft loans from the GCF, although there is an agreement among developed nations to provide the funds as grants.
He was speaking at a workshop—"Accessing Green Climate Fund: Opportunities, Options and Challenges for Private Sector Civil Society Organisations"—organised by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the finance ministry and the National Designated Authority (NDA) of Bangladesh to the Green Climate Fund as part of an effort to prepare the country to get access to the fund.
"I don’t have any objection if it’s a soft-term loan. With my experience in public service for nearly 60 years, I know that 50 per cent of this loan is spent on financing and planning,” said Muhith.
The TIB said that the government must put forward Bangladesh’s case strongly for additional allocation and new grants in the upcoming Paris Summit, considering that Bangladesh remains the most vulnerable to climate change.
“We'd request the finance minister to reconsider his statement on taking soft loans from the GCF. He should strongly put forward Bangladesh’s demand for new grants,” TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said in a statement.
He said the minister's statement would do little to realise the demand of the countries vulnerable to climate change in the upcoming Paris Summit.
“Such statements wouldn't help much to realise the demand at a time when the countries vulnerable to climate change are trying to increase new grants from developed countries responsible for high carbon emission,” he added.
It has been noticed that some international financial institutions involved in giving loans are included in the decision-makers’ panel in the name of releasing GCF and some are even trying to compel the vulnerable countries to take loans, said the TIB executive director.
“It's unethical to use the GCF as profitable investment or business. Any such act would be tantamount to a breach of commitment. The finance minister’s statement will morally weaken climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh to realise their demand in the upcoming Paris Summit,” he added.
The TIB demanded that the government should ensure transparency in implementing the roadmap between 2016 and 2030 for managing the GCF and its grants to reduce the risks caused by climate change.
The GCF will be one of the main channels for donor countries to mobilise over USD 100 billion a year in aid for developing nations by 2020 from public and private sources.

TIB against taking soft loans from Green Climate Fund

�It�s unethical to use GCF as profitable investment or business�

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday expressed concern over the interest expressed by the government to obtain soft loans from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), instead of receiving grants, even though there is such a consensus among developed nations. On Sunday, finance minister AMA Muhith had said that the government has no problem with taking soft loans from the GCF, although there is an agreement among developed nations to provide the funds as grants. He was speaking at a workshopAccessing Green Climate Fund: Opportunities, Options and Challenges for Private Sector Civil Society Organisationsorganised by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the finance ministry and the National Designated Authority (NDA) of Bangladesh to the Green Climate Fund as part of an effort to prepare the country to get access to the fund. I dont have any objection if its a soft-term loan. With my experience in public service for nearly 60 years, I know that 50 per cent of this loan is spent on financing and planning, said Muhith. The TIB said that the government must put forward Bangladeshs case strongly for additional allocation and new grants in the upcoming Paris Summit, considering that Bangladesh remains the most vulnerable to climate change. Wed request the finance minister to reconsider his statement on taking soft loans from the GCF. He should strongly put forward Bangladeshs demand for new grants, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said in a statement. He said the ministers statement would do little to realise the demand of the countries vulnerable to climate change in the upcoming Paris Summit. Such statements wouldnt help much to realise the demand at a time when the countries vulnerable to climate change are trying to increase new grants from developed countries responsible for high carbon emission, he added. It has been noticed that some international financial institutions involved in giving loans are included in the decision-makers panel in the name of releasing GCF and some are even trying to compel the vulnerable countries to take loans, said the TIB executive director. Its unethical to use the GCF as profitable investment or business. Any such act would be tantamount to a breach of commitment. The finance ministers statement will morally weaken climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh to realise their demand in the upcoming Paris Summit, he added. The TIB demanded that the government should ensure transparency in implementing the roadmap between 2016 and 2030 for managing the GCF and its grants to reduce the risks caused by climate change. The GCF will be one of the main channels for donor countries to mobilise over USD 100 billion a year in aid for developing nations by 2020 from public and private sources.