Int’l community urged to increase climate adaptation finance flows
Developing countries, including Bangladesh, need 10-18 times larger climate adaptation finance than current flows, experts say
Climate justice campaigners at a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the Adaptation Gap Report 2023 called on the international community to prioritise and increase climate adaptation finance flows.
Facilitated by Concern Worldwide, Action Against Hunger, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), and YouthNet for Climate Justice, this collaborative event was held at a Dhaka hotel on Monday.
At the dialogue, Jyotiraj Patra, programme director at Concern Worldwide Bangladesh, presented the stark realities highlighted in the Adaptation Gap Report 2023.
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Ahead of COP 28, the report exposed the underfinanced and underprepared state of global climate adaptation efforts.
Developing countries, including Bangladesh, are confronted with adaptation finance needs 10-18 times larger than current international public finance flows.
Manish Kumar Agarwal, country director of Concern Worldwide, provided an overview of Concern Worldwide's organisational mission and highlighted ongoing climate change adaptation and resilience projects in Bangladesh. Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, first secretary (Environment and Climate Change) and deputy head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden, emphasised the urgent need to increase both adaptation finance and private finance.
She noted challenges such as the perception that adaptation is solely a government responsibility, difficulty pricing climate risks, and policy gaps, stressing the integral role of addressing climate justice in these efforts.
The UNEP flagship Adaptation Gap Report 2023, released on 2 November, underscores the urgency for increased adaptation finance, planning, and implementation.
AKM Saiful Islam from the Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, discussed Bangladesh's adaptation needs and the National Adaptation Plan of the country.
A dynamic panel, moderated by Md Golam Rabbani, explored critical topics ranging from national adaptation plans to collaborative opportunities.
Mizan R Khan from ICCCAD highlighted the imbalance in climate finance allocation, with a significant portion directed towards Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the form of loans rather than grants.
Sohanur Rahman from YouthNet for Climate Justice urged a reshaping of institutional arrangements within Climate Finance to prioritise community support, gender-responsive funding, and just, equitable financing that goes beyond debt burdens.
Prof Samiya Ahmed Selim from the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, M Zakir Hossain Khan from the Change Initiative, and Enamul Haque, assistant director of Partnership Development, were also on the panel.
Mohammad Akmal Shareef, country director at ACF Bangladesh, emphasised the need for sustained collaboration.
