Aditya Hossain From Baku, Azerbaijan
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forests, Climate Change, and Water Resources, Bangladesh, emphasized the urgent need for robust adaptation finance in vulnerable nations, including Bangladesh. She highlighted that without additional financial flows to expand adaptation resources, countries like Bangladesh face significant risks to sustainable development.
Environment Advisor said this while addressing the event titled 'Governance for Strengthening SDG Climate Synergies' at the Blue Zone Side Event 1 of the World Climate Conference (COP29).
She outlined Bangladesh's status as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, citing its geographical position in South Asia's low-lying delta. Ms. Hasan explained how rising sea levels, extreme heat, severe weather events, flooding, and cyclones threaten millions of lives, disproportionately affecting the poor and marginalized. She warned that these impacts undermine Bangladesh's ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while exacerbating poverty and destabilizing infrastructure.
Addressing the financial gap, Ms. Hasan noted that Bangladesh requires 8.5 billion USD annually for adaptation, yet only 3 billion USD is currently sourced domestically, leaving a 5.5 billion USD shortfall. On a regional level, South Asia requires approximately 98 billion USD per year, while the global adaptation finance gap stands at 366 billion USD annually.
She stressed that financial mechanisms must prioritize grant-based finance and concessional loans to alleviate the burden on vulnerable nations, avoiding high-interest market-rate loans that exacerbate economic instability. "Grant-based finance offers the necessary flexibility and sustainability for resilience investments," she stated.
Rizwana Hasan also called for transparent and accountable governance of adaptation finance to ensure effective implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). She emphasized the need to balance environmental goals with economic priorities, urging the global community to close the adaptation finance gap immediately.
Concluding her speech, she reminded attendees of the limited time left to achieve the SDGs and urged policymakers to translate strategies into tangible actions. "This challenge is one of justice. Let us unite not just in words, but in concrete actions, to support vulnerable nations and create a sustainable future," she stated.
