The government's climate-related expenditure is set to come under enhanced scrutiny, thanks to the recent introduction of an audit system.
The audit protocol is known as 'Climate Performance Audit.'
The initiative, the authorities said, is aimed at ensuring better 'value for money' for the government's climate-related investment.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) has already issued a set of generic criteria and guidance for performing this climate performance audit.
Development projects financed from Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund and other climate-related programmes would come under the purview of this Climate Performance Audit.
The latest auditing move comes at a time when there is an increased national focus on climate change-related projects amid growing concerns about the adverse effect of climate change.
Up to April 2017, a total of 487 projects were approved from the 'Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund' alone, the total cost of which is around Tk 31 billion.
The government currently spends around six to seven per cent of its combined development and non-development budget on climate-sensitive schemes.
Recent reforms in Public Financial Management system, particularly the launch of climate-sensitive Medium Term Budget Framework necessitated the introduction of climate performance audit, said deputy comptroller and auditor general Mohammad Zakir Hossain.
Climate Fiscal Framework, Climate Fiscal Policy and Country Investment Plan for Climate Change are other systems in place at the moment.
"The new audit protocol has already been successfully piloted for two climate-related projects," said Ranjit Chakrabarty, project manager for the Inclusive Budgeting and Financing for Climate Resilience (IBFCR) project.
"Now based on this experience, the system can be implemented in other development projects as well," said Mr Chakrabarty.
This project is helping the government in implementing this new auditing modality with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Meanwhile, the OCAG has fixed some specific auditing criteria for various types of climate-related projects as part of implementing this Climate Performance Audit.
For example, when it comes to 'food security, social protection and health,' one of the major audit criteria will be whether any research has been undertaken to develop climate-resilient varieties of rice, wheat and other food and non-food crops and vegetables.
For schemes related to fisheries, one of the auditing criteria will be whether the potential threats to fish spawning and growth of fish (in freshwater, coastal zone, saline water and marine fisheries sector) have been assessed.
When it comes to disaster management, some of the major audit criteria will be whether hydro-meteorological data network has been reviewed or whether telemetric stations have been set up.
"The important step for us, going forward, will be to train the auditors as for this new audit scheme," Mr Chakrabarty of IBFCR said.
"The new audit protocol would help the country in assessing whether the climate-related expenditure is truly attaining its intended purpose", said AKM Mamunur Rashid, Climate Change Specialist of the UNDP.
"It would also help in ensuring better governance and policy making in the climate-related projects", he added.
Bangladesh has often been termed an 'innocent victim' of climate change.
The country's emission of Greenhouse Gas is minimal- but it has been one of the worst sufferers.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that by 2050, Bangladesh is set to lose 17 per cent of its land and 30 per cent of its food production due to the rise in sea-level.
Between 1995 and 2014, a study by Germanwatch said, Bangladesh suffered an annual loss of $ 2.5 billion or 0.86 per cent of GDP due to climate-induced natural calamities.
It is also estimated that rice and wheat production in the country could decrease by 8.0 per cent and 32 per cent respectively by the middle of this century due to climate change effects.
