Civil society seeks GDP’s 3.2pc to face climate change
Staff Reporter :
Members of the Civil Society (CSOs) and green experts have demanded of the government to allocate at least 3.2 percent of the total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to face climate change in the national budget for every year.
They also demanded of the government for taking measures by reforming tax and financial system to stop money laundering. Such initiative would help finance the climate change sector from own sources.
They made the demand through a press conference jointly organized by COAST Foundation, CPRD (Center for Participatory Research & Development) and CSRL(Centre for Sustainable Rural Livelihood), EquityBD (Equity and Justice Working Group Bangladesh), AOSED (An Organization for Socio-Economic Development)-Khulna, CANSA-BD (Climate Action Network on South Asia-Bangladesh) and LEDARS-Satkhira at Jatiya Press Club on Monday.
M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Director of COAST moderated the event.
Aminul Hoque of EquityBD presented the keynote paper during press briefing and said that the government has been allocating a portion of budgetary money for Disaster Management purpose since its independence, but the money just shifted in the name of climate finance to show the donors which does not commensurate the present climate context and its requirements in achieving climate resilient Bangladesh.
He also shown that government strategic climate plans like Delta plan 2100, Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2030 and NDC [National Determined Contribution.] is required around 3.2% of the GDP [BDT 1,83,000 crore/year] investment every year to implement the projects to combat the climate change.
Md. Ziaul Hoque Mkuta from CSRL said there is a lack of policy coherence among the government climate plans like Delta plan and Mujib Climate Prosperity plan etc. Proposed 2023-24 budget is the output of these inconsistencies where no target on real climate financing. Government will have to emphasis the issues of strategic climate plans and allocate climate finance accordingly.
Md. Shamsuddoha of CPRD opined that government ministries are lack of capacity utilizing money and they don’t have sectoral plan which is one of the causes for separate climate financing. Apart this, the ministries are also very much interested in taking climate finance from the IFIs [International Financial Institutions] because there have little of accountability and transparency comparing finance through global climate financing process like sovereign donors.
