Environmentalists demand taskforce for better climate budget implementation

Environmentalists have suggested forming a joint monitoring taskforce to ensure transparency and accountability of the climate budget. The committee should consist of government officials, civil society organisations and private sector representatives.

They also advocate conducting disaster related research, and more investment in implementing the outcome of the research.  

"The allocation for the climate budget is increasing every year, and now we need to assess the impact," Dr Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) told a discussion programme. He added that "The joint monitoring taskforce will survey and analyse the scenario, and its recommendations will help in placing a more effective climate budget plan."        

ICCCAD and ActionAid jointly organised the programme titled 'Bangladesh Climate Budget FY 2019-2020: A CSO Analysis and Reflection' at the Daily Star Centre on Sunday.    

Dr Saleemul Huq advocated long-term investment and infrastructure development to minimise the effects of natural disasters.   

ActionAid's Resilience and Climate Justice Unit Chief Tanjir Hossain and Programme Officer Lamia Hossain jointly presented the keynote address.    

Lamia said: "The climate related allocation has increased from Tk12,163 crore to Tk23,748 crore, which is 0.8 percent of the GDP for FY2019-20. As much as the climate budget reflects the government's interest and intention to protect the most vulnerable communities, there are areas where improvement is necessary to meet the goal of building a climate resilient nation."

Tanjir Hossain, meantime, said: "To understand how these climate relevant allocations and expenditures are changing people's lives, it is important that the impact is measured. We request the government to carry out social audits to measure the impact of the climate budget through the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division."

M Khalid Mahmood, a joint secretary at the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry, ICCCAD Programme Director Dr Mizanur Rahman Khan and ActionAid Country Director Farah Kabir also spoke at the programme.