Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said Bangladesh must reform its climate finance system to prioritise community needs, institutional capacity and full transparency.

“Bangladesh cannot afford a system where process outweighs outcomes. We need faster delivery, stronger planning, better coordination with international partners, and a funding framework that protects vulnerable citizens,” she said, expressing hope that the consultation would produce an actionable national strategy.

She made the remarks while addressing a consultation workshop titled National Climate Finance Strategy Formulation for Bangladesh at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

Senior government officials, development partners and climate finance experts, including AKM Sohel, Additional Secretary and UN Wing Chief of the Economic Relations Division, and Nayoka Martinez Bäckström, First Secretary (Environment and Climate Change) and Deputy Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, attended the event to identify financial pathways to address the country’s growing climate vulnerabilities.

Rizwana Hasan recalled that global climate finance commitments originated from the principle of “new and additional” support from historically responsible and technologically advanced economies.

“Over the years, these commitments have been diluted. Many of the countries most responsible for the climate crisis still deny established science. That denial makes climate finance more complex and profoundly unjust,” she said.

She added that while some nations continue to honour their pledges, others use climate narratives selectively.

At the national level, she criticised disproportionate budget allocations, noting that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change receives the lowest yearly allocation while mega-infrastructure projects take priority. “Adaptation, waste management and community-level resilience remain severely underfunded,” she said.

She also lamented that Bangladesh still lacks a functioning national waste management system after 54 years of independence. “We cannot claim adaptation readiness while ignoring foundational weaknesses,” she added.

The Adviser stressed that institutional strengthening must come before increased financial inflow. “Money alone is not enough. Agencies must have planning capacity, competent teams and efficient mechanisms. Even awareness material takes months due to procedural delays. When processes become the objective, outcomes inevitably suffer,” she said, urging the Finance Ministry to simplify procedures while ensuring transparency.

Rizwana Hasan underscored the growing role of the Bangladesh Climate Development Partnership (BCDP), supported by Sweden, UNDP, AFD and others. “BCDP must emerge as the central coordination platform. With working groups on domestic finance, international finance, project development and monitoring, it must set strategic direction,” she said, calling for adequate technological resources, skilled manpower and dedicated workspace for the Secretariat.

She informed participants that access procedures for the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund had been restructured, allowing NGOs to apply jointly with relevant ministries or departments. “This enables government institutions to benefit from grassroots reach while civil society gains meaningful policy engagement,” she said.

Calling for equity-based allocation, she stressed the need to direct greater resources to adaptation. “In river-erosion belts, saline regions and drought-prone districts, hundreds apply for support, yet only a fraction can be funded. Protecting vulnerable citizens delivers far richer economic returns than adding another expressway,” she said, warning that tagging unrelated spending—such as defence—as climate finance “undermines accountability and credibility.”

Later in the day, the Adviser addressed a Human Rights Day programme titled Strengthening Bangladesh’s Commitment to Justice and Rights for All, held at the Hotel InterContinental.

She said the Government remains committed to ensuring justice and protecting human rights. She noted that complaints against law-enforcement agencies will now be reviewed by the newly established Police Commission, which provides an institutional platform for grievance redress. If led impartially, she said, the Commission could become “a landmark achievement”.

She added that Bangladesh is moving towards a more structured democratic framework. “We have initiated reforms within policing. We have made progress on environmental and forest rights. The conduct of future leadership will determine how the country moves forward. At the very least, due to the space created for freedom of expression, unilateral decisions without accountability will no longer be easy,” she said, adding that legal reforms are under way and inclusive progress remains the core objective.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul; Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan; UNDP Resident Representative Stefan Liller; and Hafiz Ahmed Chowdhury, Secretary of the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, also attended the events.