Experts call for easing process of getting GCF

Stakeholders and experts at a workshop called for easing the process of receiving funds from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a mechanism created by the United Nations, for helping the victim countries to tackle climate change.
Bangladesh is yet to play its potential role in different climate conferences to reap its expected benefits, they opined.
They made these remarks at a day-long capacity building workshop - 'Facilitating Media Engagement at COP 27 and Beyond' - at a city hotel on Thursday.
The event was jointly organised by ActionAid Bangladesh, AOSED, Climate Action Network South Asia, Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD), Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), ChristianAid, Concern Worldwide, COAST Foundation, and Diakonia Bangladesh.
CPRD Chief Executive Md. Shamsuddoha facilitated the workshop. Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary, lawmaker from Gaibandha-1, was the chief guest of the event.
Among other guests, Khodeja Sultana Lopa - Country Director of Diakonia, Hasin Jahan - Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh, Asif Saleh - Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, and Shaheen Anam - Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), also delivered their comments on several "to-do's" for the COP 27.
Then four technical sessions were facilitated by Dr. Fazle Rabbi Sadek Ahmed - deputy managing director of PKSF, Dr. Golam Rabbani - chair of Climate Bridge Fund of BRAC, Akib Jabed - Project Coordinator of CPRD, and Sheikh Nur Ataya Rabbi - Research Officer of CPRD.
Speaking at the function, Barrister Shamim expressed his concern that Bangladesh was yet to build a strong negotiator group to send to the COP.
He opined that the country urgently needs to create a negotiator group of at least one thousand members from different spheres of the society, who could voice out at the COP, based on knowledge.
Mr. Shamsuddoha talked about the significance of the programme in order to facilitate media engagement with the COP process within Bangladesh and beyond.
Mr Asif Saleh said, "Getting funds from the GCF is very difficult. We notice that the GCF provides billions of dollars on climate issues. We applied for funds from the organisation three years ago. But we did not get any, although BRAC is a big NGO in Bangladesh."
He also said now climate change is related to livelihood, food security, water and sanitation.
In the final session, Dr. Fazle Rabbi shared his thoughts about the upcoming COP 27, where he focused on the expectations from and the challenges to be faced at COP 27, including the issues of loss and damage, finance, phasing out of fossil fuel, etc.
Dr. Golam Rabbani explained the ongoing climate change scenario to the participants.
Besides, he also discussed the dimension of climate change impacts according to the latest scientific evidence, quoting IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
The other organisers of the programme were Development Organisation of the Rural Poor (DORP), European Climate Foundation (ECF), HEKS/EPER, Helvetas, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Islamic Relief, MJF, NETZ Partnership for Development and Justice, Practical Action, SDS (Shariatpur Development Society), WaterAid, and Young Power in Social Action (YPSA).

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