Gazi Anowar :
Despite growing concerns over Bangladesh’s worsening environmental conditions and rising climate-related threats, the government has kept its climate change allocation unchanged in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2025-26. Given the scale of Bangladesh’s climate change vulnerability, environmental experts have termed the allocation in the budget highly insufficient
Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday announced a Tk 100 crore allocation to tackle climate risks-exactly the same as last year-drawing criticism from environmental experts and civil society groups.
“I propose to allocate Tk 100 crore in the next fiscal year to take necessary actions considering the depth and seriousness of climate change risks,” Dr. Ahmed said during his budget speech, broadcasted on BTV and Bangladesh Betar.
The proposed funds are intended to support initiatives such as strengthening women’s ability to adapt to climate impacts, conducting ecosystem assessments in coastal areas, and improving the role of media in raising awareness on climate resilience. Additionally, the Climate Change Trust Fund will continue to support efforts in pollution control, waste management, environmental development, and public health responses to climate-induced challenges.
However, many experts have expressed disappointment, saying the allocation falls drastically short of what is needed to address the scale of Bangladesh’s environmental crisis.
Experts Call Budget “Symbolic, Not Substantive”
“Air pollution in Dhaka is among the worst in the world, plastic waste is choking rivers, and rural communities are losing land to salinity and floods. Tk 100 crore is merely symbolic-it cannot meaningfully address these crises,” Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, professor at the Department of Environmental Science at Stamford University Bangladesh told The New Nation.
According to a 2023 World Bank report, environmental degradation costs Bangladesh an estimated 3.5% of its GDP annually. Yet, the budget for climate mitigation and environmental restoration remains minimal, relative to the country’s needs.
Many had hoped for a stronger, more proactive budget under the guidance of newly appointed Environment Adviser Rezwana Hasan, a renowned environmental lawyer and rights activist.
“Rezwana Hasan is known for her commitment to environmental justice. People expected her to advocate for a substantial increase in environmental and climate funding,” said M. Zakir Hossain Khan – Chief Executive of Change Initiative “The unchanged allocation is disappointing and fails to reflect the urgency of the situation.”
Tk 100cr climate budget allocation is ‘grossly inadequate’, Khan opined.
Critics also point to low absorption capacity and poor transparency in fund utilization. “Even the small amounts allocated are not always used effectively. There is little public accountability on how these funds are spent,” said activist Rafiq Chowdhury of the Clean Air Coalition.
