Climate finance tops Bangladesh agenda at SB64 negotiations

Bangladesh is placing climate finance, adaptation support and loss-and-damage funding at the centre of its agenda at the ongoing SB64 climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, joining other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in pressing for faster implementation of global climate commitments.

Professor A.K.M. Saiful Islam, a member of Bangladesh’s official negotiating team and a climate scientist at BUET, said securing predictable, adequate and grant-based climate finance for adaptation and resilience-building remains the country’s top priority.

He said Bangladesh is seeking increased climate funding, stronger links between financing mechanisms and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and greater transparency from developed countries regarding their climate finance commitments.

The country is also advocating easier access to adaptation finance and increased support for coastal protection, climate-resilient agriculture and urban resilience projects.

A major focus of the negotiations is the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), with Bangladesh calling for indicators that better reflect the climate challenges facing deltaic and coastal nations, including impacts on water resources, food security, public health and displacement.

Bangladesh is also urging the swift operationalisation and adequate capitalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund to assist communities affected by sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, cyclones, floods and climate-induced migration.

Negotiators are further discussing the outcomes of the Global Stocktake (GST), which Bangladesh believes should guide the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and future climate action.

Professor Islam said meaningful progress at SB64 would include accelerated adaptation finance, a fully functional loss-and-damage mechanism, stronger implementation of adaptation goals and enhanced emission-reduction commitments from major polluters to keep the 1.5°C target within reach.

“Vulnerable countries cannot wait for action at COP31. Implementation must begin now,” he said.