A 27-year comprehensive plan involving $230 billion to combat adverse impacts of climate change in Bangladesh is set to be placed before the cabinet shortly.
The draft plan styled 'National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023-2050' entails a detailed outline to attract both domestic and foreign funds, according to experts who drafted it.
Some 52 per cent of the fund would be invested in urban water management, water infrastructure and river dredging, said CEGIS executive director Malik Fida A Khan.
A pool of experts comprising 35 fellows of the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) drafted the NAP.
The private sector's contribution is estimated at 5.01 per cent of the aggregate amount in the NAP, Mr Khan said.
The funds would be managed through offloading green bonds, attracting investment in economic zones, export-processing zones, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.
The government's annual development programme (ADP) would be another source of fund management for implementing the plan, he added.
Once the NAP is passed, Bangladesh would be able to seek fund assistance from development partners with the support of the plan's detailed data and outline.
"Development partners often wanted to know how much money Bangladesh would need to combat adverse impacts of climate change, but we couldn't provide any data or study."
Mr Khan said the NAP has pointed out segments and categorised the areas where investment would be needed for adaptation to climate change.
An implementation road map has to be prepared after the NAP gets approved, he continued.
Last week, the cabinet sent back the NAP to incorporate the government's landmark initiatives, taken so far on climate change front, in the plan.
Mr Khan said the NAP has been formulated as per the requirements of the Cancun framework of COP16 in 2010.
At the COP21 UN climate-change conference, the Paris Agreement called for each country at risk to adopt a national adaptation plan.
Environment, forests and climate change ministry initiated the formulation of the plan in 2016.
Sources said the government took the initiative to finalise the NAP ahead of COP27 in Egypt, slated for next month.
Bangladesh lost $4.65 billion, or 1.3 per cent of its GDP (gross domestic product), in fiscal year 2021-22 due to adverse impacts of climate change, according to CEGIS data.
Mr Khan said the losses might reach more than 2.0 per cent of the GDP in 2030 and 9.0 per cent in 2050 if no effective action is taken.
The NAP has been drafted selecting four sectors-water resources, agriculture, urban area and coastal zone.
In the drafting process, the CEGIS conducted rigorous consultations with an estimated 5,000 people, including the underprivileged ones.
The NAP has divided Bangladesh into 11 climate-change areas considering 14 climate hazards.
It has considered the period-2030 and 2050-keeping in mind sustainable development goals (SDGs) and delta plan, and Bangladesh's target to become a developed country by 2041.
The plan has categorised eight areas considering the country's future risks of climate change.
The areas are water resources, disaster, social-safety net, agriculture, fisheries and livestock, urban area, biodiversity and wetland, ecology, institution and rules and regulations, capacity development research and innovation.
Mr Khan said Bangladesh would need fund support to manage climate risks.
Earlier, drafting such an inclusive plan required foreign consultants' support, but the CEGIS has gained expertise to prepare this international standard document, he concluded.
Center for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) of Brac University, Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS), International Center for Climate Change and Development were also involved in the drafting process of NAP.
