Speakers at a seminar on Thursday emphasised that several long-term plans, including the Centenary Delta Plan, have been formulated in Bangladesh to address the impacts of climate change.

However, they noted that the budget allocation required to implement these plans is not reflected in the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 that would begin on 1 July.

The seminar on self-reliant climate finance was jointly organised by EquityBD, AOSED, CLEAN, CSRL, and COAST Foundation at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.

Climate expert Dr Qazi Khalikuzzaman Ahmad presided over the seminar, which was conducted by EquityBD’s Chief Moderator Rezaul Karim Chowdhury.

Abul Hasan, chief of the Coast Foundation’s climate project, presented the keynote at the seminar. Panel speakers included Sharif Jamil of Water Keepers Bangladesh, Hasan Mehdi of CLEAN, Ziaul Haque Mukta of CSRL, AHM Bazlur Rahman of BNNRC, Aminur Rasul of Unnayan Dhara Trust, and Pradip K Roy of Online Knowledge Centre.

In his keynote paper, Abul Hasan highlighted certain demands for climate finance: allocation of at least 3% of GDP for climate finance in the national budget, following policies and plans to reduce dependence on foreign loans and inclusion of the National Strategy Paper on Displacement Management in the climate finance revenue framework and prioritising allocation to this end.

The keynote paper also called for ensuring adequate allocation based on local needs, one that would be separate from the traditional allocation for embankment construction.

Hasan Mehdi pointed out that, according to the national five-year plan, Bangladesh should have at least 10% renewable use in its energy system by 2025, but has only achieved 3% use so far. He highlighted the significant gap between planning and execution.

Sharif Jamil of Water Keepers Bangladesh noted that while there is budget allocation for many mega projects, there is none for assessing and correcting the environmental damage caused by these projects.

Ziaul Haque Mukta of CSRL stated that although there is a national plan and sector-wise allocation to address climate change, the biggest challenge is the absence of regional plans. Climate impacts vary by region and often cannot be addressed by national planning alone.

Highlighting the futility of the planning processes due to lack of enforcement and implemention, Dr Kazi Khalikuzzaman cited the example of the National River Protection Commission, which identified 50,000 river encroachers, but could not penalise any of these due to political pressure.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury emphasised the importance of involving local communities in the construction and maintenance of embankments, citing successful examples from Bhola and Charfashion.