TIB calls for climate fund transparency

Picking competent climate negotiators and maintaining transparency in spending funds are the key to realising global climate fund for the country, Transparency International Bangladesh said yesterday. 

“There is an inadequacy in professional and technical skills of those sent for global climate negotiations,” said TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, he said Bangladeshi negotiators need better skills to be able to establish the country's position and realise compensations pledged for climate damage it was faced with.

Sometimes, knowledgeable negotiators who gain better skills and competence in the negotiation process are removed for some other business, the TIB official said.

Iftekharuzzaman suggested that the government should work in concert with non-government climate actors at the negotiation stage in the national interest, as done by Sri Lanka and India.      

The TIB organised the press conference ahead of the 24th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Poland next month.

The programme is expected to finalise the outline of the rulebook on implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement for making disbursement of climate fund tangible.

Iftekharuzzaman said it was imperative to enhance the ability and good governance in spending climate fund as the governance was not at desirable level.

Sumaiya Khair, adviser to TIB executive management, said, “Bangladeshi organisations do not yet fully meet the standards required by the Green Climate Fund [GCF] for allocation of fund. So, the government has to come forward to enhance organisational efficiency and ability to utilise climate fund.”  

Lack of public participation, availability of information, accountability, fair practice and independent auditing in utilisation of climate fund remain as the key challenges to climate adaptation, said M Zakir Hossain Khan, head of TIB Climate Finance Governance, while reading out a written statement.

Bangladesh alone needs $2.5 billion annually for climate adaptation measures to combat climate change impacts. The country, however, has so far received $85 million from the GCF to finance three projects. 

Though Bangladesh has instituted a Climate Change Trust Fund with an allocation of Tk 3,500 crore from its domestic sources, the allocation has decreased over the years.

Zakir said as per 2009 Copenhagen climate agreement, the industrialist countries under “polluters pay policy” were pledge-bound to pay into the fund which would increase to $100 billion by 2020. 

     As per the 2015 Paris Agreement, the industrialist countries made a commitment to continue the compensation at the same rate until 2025, he added.

But the GCF, the key climate fund channel, has so far received only $7 billion from the developed countries since 2010 for climate adaptation, said Zakir.