Environment, Forest and Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury on Sunday said the France-Bangladesh Adaptation Pact, which will be signed between the two countries, will create a robust partnership in addressing urgent climate challenges.
"This collaborative effort aims to expedite Bangladesh's adaptation strategies while securing additional funding for climate resilience projects," he said while a delegation, led by French Ambassador in Dhaka Marie Masdupuy, met him at Bangladesh Secretariat, reports BSS.
During the meeting, they focused on finalising the France-Bangladesh Adaptation Pact while the ministry proposed resource allocation aligned with national priorities.
The timeline for the pact is set from September 2023 to August 2028. The French delegation expressed willingness to align interventions with Bangladesh's National Adaptation Plan (NAP) during the implementation phase, a ministry press release said.
The Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry of Bangladesh will submit project concepts under the “Ecosystem, Wetland and Biodiversity” sector of the NAP to access initial funding.
The French Development Agency, Agence Francaise De Developpement (AFD), has requested the ministry's formal project request to secure the first tranche of €4 million for 2024.
The meeting highlighted projects aimed at restoring and protecting the Sundarbans, including mangrove plantation and community-based forest fire management.
The French government, through AFD, is offering a climate policy loan support of €300 million. The ministry stressed the need for technical support to meet specific indicators, particularly those related to the Enhanced Transparency Framework.
In September 2023, during his historical visit to Bangladesh, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would sign an agreement with Bangladesh to finance climate-change adaptation and loss and damage in the first half of 2024.
The French Development Agency will be contributing €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in investment, and the IMF will be extending up to $1 billion worth of SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) in new loans, Macron said.
