GCA and UK Join Forces in Support of Government of Bangladesh’s Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan
D haka, Bangladesh,12 March 2023 – The CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen hosted a roundtable dialogue with the Government of the United Kingdom, the Government of Bangladesh, and other development partners to accelerate adaptation finance and spearhead the implementation of the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is faced with a frontline climate emergency that risks costing the country 7 percent of its GDP by 2030. The Government of Bangladesh spends over US$1.2 billion each year to finance adaptation needs and has emerged as a pioneer and leader in designing and implementing adaptation solutions. However, the MCPP calls for support to rapidly accelerate investments to over US$8.5 billion each year to address the threats of climate change.
The roundtable was organized by GCA with H.E. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), UK, H.E. Md. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), and H.E. Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.
GCA, with the support of UK FCDO and in partnership with the government and its development partners, launched an ambitious program that mainstreams adaptation solutions into large-scale investments to deliver a step-change in adaptation action. The roundtable session follows the high-level launch of the GCA Global Hub on Locally Led Adaptation, inaugurated by H.E. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in December 2022.
Delivering the keynote remarks, Prof. Dr. Verkooijen highlighted the urgent need for investment, noting that: “With each major flood, economic damages to the transport sector alone could rise to over US$13 billion by 2050. However, the human cost of losing access to basic services like healthcare and education is even higher and underlines the need to put people at the heart of the solution.”
Prof. Dr. Verkooijen reaffirmed GCA’s commitment to working hand in hand with the Government of Bangladesh to close the climate adaptation financing gap, highlighting ongoing work to mainstream adaptation and Nature-based Solutions into the design of over US$1 billion in investments financed by Multilateral Development Banks, including the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the World Bank Group.
H.E. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP, Minister of State in FCDO UK noted the impact of GCA’s country program, highlighting the work of GCA’s Global Hub on Locally Led Adaptation, which aims to gather locally developed knowledge on adaptation to empower people to make sound investments for resilience. She underlined the historic agreement in Glasgow to double adaptation finance, noting that: “I hope to see adaptation on the same platform as mitigation and look forward to scaling the GCA model up in Bangladesh and other regions.”
H.E. Md. Shahab Uddin, Minister, MOEFCC of Bangladesh noted the transition from vulnerability to prosperity, stating that: “The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change will extend full support to GCA for successful implementation of all the activities of the Bangladesh work program.”
H.E. Md. Shahriar Alam, MP, State Minister for Foreign Affairs noted that: “As a global pioneer in climate adaptation, Bangladesh has advanced substantially in building adaptive capacity and resilience to cope with climate change. The Global Center on Adaptation is an important partner for Bangladesh to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions.”
Speaking in a bilateral discussion with the GCA CEO, H.E. Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh discussed the importance of sharing the work GCA is undertaking in Bangladesh with other countries in the region: “With the proper grounding of GCA in Bangladesh, we would now like to see GCA in its regional role to leverage regional cooperation in accelerating adaptation solutions. The Government of Bangladesh will provide full support to GCA to achieve scale with speed to reduce climate risks for populations and sections of society that are most vulnerable to climate change.”
