Climate debt is an unfair burden on Bangladesh

The accumulation of climate debt in Bangladesh’s name is both alarming and unfair, especially considering the country’s minimal contribution to the global climate crisis. According to a report According to data from Dhaka-based research organization Change Initiative, the country’s per capita climate debt has risen from just over $2 in 2009 to nearly $80 (about Tk 9,500) in 2022. This places an unfair burden on our citizens who they should not wear. bear.

This debt has reportedly accumulated because Bangladesh has financed projects to address the effects of climate change. In 2009, the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) was established to support adaptation and mitigation initiatives. Currently, approximately six to seven percent of the national budget is allocated annually to climate adaptation, with 75 percent of this financing coming from domestic sources. Yet between 2009 and 2022, Bangladesh had to take on $12.78 billion in climate debt to finance multiple projects.

This might not have been a problem if Bangladesh had received the international financial support pledged to climate-sensitive countries. At COP15 in 2009, developed countries committed to providing $100 billion annually by 2020 to help vulnerable countries take adaptation and mitigation measures. But developed countries – the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions – have failed to deliver on this promise. In fact, in many cases the commitments have been converted into loans, while they should have been grants (financing without any conditions).

Bangladesh, which accounts for only 0.56 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, ranks seventh in the long-term climate crisis index. Yet between 2009 and 2022, the country received only $268 million in subsidies from the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the LDC Fund. Meanwhile, as climate change worsens, the situation becomes more serious: in coastal areas, nearby 3.6 million people are now at increased risk due to rising sea levels, river erosion, severe cyclones and saltwater intrusion. Annual losses from climate-related disasters are estimated at $3 billion, and climate-induced displacement is increasing. According to the National Action Plan (2023-2050), to reverse these consequences in the country, $230 billion would be needed. Why should we bear these costs when we have done so little to cause the crisis?

The refusal of developed countries to take full responsibility, leaving vulnerable countries burdened with debt, is unacceptable. Bangladesh should use COP29, which is being touted as the “Financial COP”, to emphasize the need for substantial increases in climate finance in the form of grants, not loans. This is non-negotiable, and Bangladesh and other climate-vulnerable countries must remain steadfast. We hope that the chief advisor Attend COP29 will succeed in conveying the urgency of this situation and pushing for real climate justice.