When I talk about Bangladesh's climate change response, I get excited by the thought of three milestones.
Regarding climate planning, I love to talk about Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). It was exclusively prepared by Bangladeshi climate change experts in 2008 (revised in 2009)—not to comply with any global agency, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but to meet the country's own needs. Over the last decade, this has been the sole guiding document to spend money from the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) and other funding sources, including the development partners.
I also get excited when thinking of the money we have been spending to face climate crisis. Eleven years ago, the BCCTF was established with the country's own money. Gradually, it became a pot of about USD 450 million, which until May 2021 supported 789 projects. According to the Climate Budget Report (2021-2022), Bangladesh's climate-related budget involving 25 ministries and agencies is USD 2.96 billion, which is 0.73 percent of the country's GDP. Between 2015-16 and 20212022, we doubled our climate budget. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the government continued allocating climate budget, which were 4.23 percent (2020-2021) and 4.16 percent (2021-2022) of the total national budget of two consecutive years.
Regarding our climate leadership in recent years, I love to highlight Bangladesh's current presidency at the Climate...
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