Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said on Thursday that it was unacceptable that almost 40 per cent of climate-change funding for Bangladesh was loan.
Almost 40 per cent of the climate-change funding that Bangladesh has received is loan. But frankly speaking, it's not acceptable, he said while speaking as chief guest at a World Bank (WB) report-unveiling programme in a city hotel.
"We don't want to have funding that puts additional burden on us," he said.
He further says that Bangladesh has not created climate related problem and for that reason, should not take burden for the problems.
"This is a problem we haven't caused, then why should we have another liability, another burden to respond to a burden which we haven't had any role in creating in the first place," he says.
He also said Bangladesh wanted preferably grant or concessional fund as climate finance.
Bangladesh is a recipient of all kinds of pollution as located in the downstream in the region, he mentions.
The minister was speaking while unveiling the report on Country Environment Analysis for Bangladesh titled "Addressing Environmental Pollution Is Critical for Bangladesh's Growth and Development".
Bangladesh faces alarming levels of pollution and environmental health risks that disproportionately harm the most vulnerable people - the poor, children under 5, the elderly, and women, says a new WB report.
The Bangladesh country environmental analysis has found that air pollution, unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene, and lead exposure cause over 272,000 premature deaths and 5.2 billion days of illness annually.
These environmental costs were equivalent to 17.6 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2019, it said.
The analysis found that household and outdoor air pollution have the most detrimental effect on health, leading to nearly 55 per cent of premature deaths, which alone cost 8.32 percent of GDP in 2019.
The report also says lead poisoning is causing irreversible damage to children's brain development, resulting in an estimated annual loss of nearly 20 million IQ points.
Household emissions from cooking with solid fuels are a major source of air pollution and affect women and children, it adds.
"Major rivers in Bangladesh have experienced a severe decline in water quality due to industrial discharge and unmanaged waste, including plastics and untreated sewage, among other sources."
The report identifies environmental priorities, assesses interventions and includes recommendations to strengthen governance and institutional capacity for environmental management.
Bangladesh can protect its environment by setting evidence-based priorities, diversifying and strengthening environmental policy instruments, strengthening institutional capacity, and building an enabling environment for green financing," the report suggests.
It recommends that timely and urgent interventions for air pollution control, improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and control of lead exposure could prevent over 133,000 premature deaths per year. Investments in cleaner power generation, clean cooking fuels and stricter controls on industrial emissions can help reduce air pollution.
"For Bangladesh, addressing environmental risks is both a development and an economic priority. We've seen around the world that when economic growth comes at the cost of the environment, it cannot sustain. But it is possible to grow cleaner and greener without growing slower," says Abdoulaye Seck, the Word Bank's country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
"To sustain its strong growth path and improve the livability of cities and the countryside, Bangladesh simply cannot afford to ignore the environment. Preventing environmental degradation and ensuring climate resilience is critical to stay on a strong growth path and for achieving the country's vision of becoming an upper-middle-income country."
"With timely and right set of policies and actions, Bangladesh can reverse its environment degradation trend," says Ana Luisa Gomes Lima, WB senior environmental specialist and co-author of the report.
"Strengthening and enforcing environmental regulations, coupled with investments and other incentives for clean cooking, scaling up green financing, setting up efficient carbon markets, and raising awareness, can help reduce pollution and achieve green growth in Bangladesh."
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