Business Report :
A coalition of 39 civil society organisations CSOs) under the banner of the Climate Justice Alliance-Bangladesh has called for the cancellation of the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) 2022-2041 which, they considered was formulated through an undemocratic process and designed solely to implement the political ambitions of the then-government.
They also demanded radical reforms of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund- BCCTF and the Climate Change Trust Act, 2010 to prevent syndicated corruption in funding decisions and implementation.
The Alliance made this demand during a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday.
The Alliance, which often raises critical concerns for a rights-based policy response to the impacts of climate change, appreciates the intent of the current interim government on the structural reform that would ensure justice and equitable development across all sections of the society.
Aligning with the broader reform agenda, the Alliance emphasises the urgency for the revision, extension, and reform of the existing climate plans and policies to ensure they are just and equitable.
It criticised the undemocratic practices in planning process, dominated by the ‘syndicated interests’ of the political government, its allied bureaucrats, and elite consultants.
The Alliance termed the existing plans and policies undemocratic and demanded an immediate shutdown of all avenues of corruption in their implementation.
Md Shamsudohha, Coordinator of Climate Justice Alliance-Bangladesh, provided a brief overview of the political economy context of the country’s key climate plans, which include Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) 2022-2041, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023-2050, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) up to 2030, and others.
He also explained how Bangladesh’s Climate Change Trust Fund, sourced from country’s revenue income, has become a worst case example of political domination and syndicated corruption, supported by the immunity granted by the Climate Change Trust Act.
The MCPP was developed exclusively by foreign consultants under the sole supervision of the previous government’s Chief Coordinator of SDG affairs, without any broader consultation with relevant stakeholders.
Given that the plan carries the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, offering critical feedback was considered a highly sensitive matter. The MCPP estimates a cost of US$170.95 billion for implementation, of which US$140.2 billion is allocated for infrastructure development and is loan-based. Without any feasibility assessment, the plan estimates US$27.1 billion for a 4-gigawatt wind power generation project in the Bay of Bengal.
Md Shamsuddoha pointed out the unjustified composition of the Climate Change Trust Fund Board-among the 17 Trustee Board members, 14 are Ministers who typically priotise political interest, compromising the critical adaptation needs of climate-vulnerable people. In practice, the legal framework governing the fund’s operation and implementation-the Climate Change Trust Act-has ensured an all-out dominance by politically biased bureaucrats and the ruling party, creating a favourable environment for unabated corruption.
Referring to the massive devastation caused by the recent flash flood, Prof Ahmed Kamruzzaman Mazumder of Stamford University criticised the loopholes in Bangladesh’s National Adaptation Plan, which was not developed in the context of vulnerabilities arising from the country’s geographical diversity.
He called for the localisation of the National Adaptation Plan and the formulation of a Local Adaptation Plan by assessing location-specific climate vulnerabilities.
Md Nasir Uddin Faruk, Deputy Executive Director of Shushilan, pointed a lack of coordination between government agencies and between government and non- government entities, as well as a lack of good governance, and a tendency toward corruption in project implementation, and issues with ensuring the flow of finance to areas and communities with higher vulnerability, among others.