‘Developed countries destroying climate equilibrium’
FE Online Report | Sunday, 8 November 2015
Lack of institutional capacity in climate change finance governance is the greatest challenge for countries like Bangladesh to get access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to cope and adapt with the effects of climate change.
Speakers at a daylong workshop on “Accessing Green Climate Fund: Opportunities, Options and Challenges for Private Sector and Civil Society Organisations” expressed the view on Sunday stressing the need for strengthening the country’s institutional capacity.
The GCF was adopted as a financial mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the end of 2011 to help poor countries reduce emissions and cope with climate change. Developed countries at the meeting agreed to provide US$ 100 billion per annum to member countries for adaptation and mitigation of climate change effects. But they did not release the fund in the excuse of lack of institutional capacity.
The senior secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance has been appointed as the National Designated Authority (NDA) of Bangladesh to the GCF. The workshop is a part of NDA’s effort to prepare Bangladesh to get access to the GCF.
To get access to the fund, according to experts, the country needs to increase its institutional efficiency especially in private sector, NGOs and civil societies in combating the impacts of climate change and their ability to engage themselves in climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes. They have to improve institutional capacity in the area of environment and social safeguard policy and practices. They have to enhance fiduciary standards and project management capacities.
Terming the ensuing Paris Climate Change Conference very important for Bangladesh, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, who attended the programme as the chief guest, called upon the private sector and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to play more vital roles in this connection. He stressed the need for involving private sectors and CSOs to utilise their full potential on combating the impacts of climate change.
“It is very difficult to get the fund from the developed countries,” said the finance minister adding that Bangladesh suffers greatly because of climate change although developed countries are mostly responsible for the climate change effects. “They are destroying the climate equilibrium”, said the minister.
According to finance minister, the government has already taken some projects to meet the climate challenge. But it needs more money. “The government was supposed to get the fund as grant to implement the projects, but we did not get it,” said the minister. “We will consider ourselves fortunate if we get the fund even as soft loans,” the minister added.
Speaking at the workshop Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said Bangladesh has already been one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and the poor and the marginal people are suffering mostly because of its adverse impact. He stressed the need for realising the fund from the developed countries as they are the major polluters.
He, however, said that the government had already adopted an environment-friendly industrial policy. So, he said, it would not be difficult for the government to increase the country’s efficiency.
Held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city’s Agargoan area the conference was also addressed, among others, by Deputy Minister for Environment and Forests Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman, UN Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins, FBCCI President Matlub Ahmed and NDA of Bangladesh to the GCF Senior Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin.
ERD and NDA of Bangladesh to the GCF organised the workshop in partnership with UNDP, GIZ, BRAC, IIED and ICCCAD.
The fund – GCF – is expected to play a key role in channelling new, additional, adequate and predictable financial resources to developing countries. The fund is being disbursed in two ways—Direct Access through National Implementing Entity (NIE) and Indirect Access through Multilateral Implementing Entity (MIE).
No organisation can access the GCF without accreditation from NDA. “I am hopeful that Bangladesh will be able to directly access funding from GCF in near future. I am also optimistic about the potential of GCF in transforming the development landscape in addition to the development aid that we get under ODA,” said Mejbahuddin.