TI Bangladesh demands climate justice

Ahead of COP 22 scheduled in Marakash during November 7-18 November 2016, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) organized a series of week-long advocacy and civic engagement programmes involving grassroots people in coastal areas of the country already affected by climate change. A package of demands calling for climate justice was placed in a press conference held in Dhaka as a culmination of the initiatives. One of the demands was a call for ensuring a legally binding status to the Paris Agreement, especially time-bound reduction of carbon emission to limit rise of global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 and faster and transparent delivery of grants as pledged, rather than loan to compensate for adverse effects of climate change upon the people of countries like Bangladesh.

Reiterating the importance of ensuring the highest level of integrity, transparency, accountability and participation in the management, disbursement and use of climate funds TIB called upon stakeholders to work together to facilitate faster and easier access of potential national implementing agencies of countries like Bangladesh to such funds as Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Earlier on 20 October, TI Bangladesh expressed concern over the World Bank's intent to provide a loan of US$ 2 billion as climate finance.

Organized in partnership with Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) and nine coastal area-based Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) established at the initiative of TIB the people engagement programme added a new dimension to TIB’s work on climate finance governance as it was for the first time that people already affected by climate change including internal displacement was involved in such a campaign. Participants in various innovative events like rally of floating banana-plant made ferries and coffin procession symbolizing life at risk of victims of river erosion, storm surge, excessive salinity, depressions and cyclone demanded justice and called upon the developed industrial countries liable for emission of greenhouse gas to disburse funds for compensation as pledged so these could be used for technologies and innovations for adaptation.

On the concluding day of Climate Justice Week, a press conference was held in the Capital on 28 October releasing an eleven-point declaration adopted on behalf of the affected people. Particular emphasis was given on the urgency to simplify the disbursement process of the Green Climate Fund so that climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh can access its funds as they deserve.

Later, TIB submitted a position paper containing a series of recommendations for consideration of the Bangladesh official delegation in CoP-22. It called upon the Government to deploy all the diplomatic, negotiating and political skills and leverages at its disposal to work together with peer governments in similar situations to ensure flow of funds as grants from developed countries. It also reminded the government about Bangladesh’s legitimate right to claim “new and additional” grants over above conventional development assistance.