Environmental campaigner Sharif Jamil views the announcement of Bangladesh’s largest-ever climate budget of Tk51,746 crore for the next fiscal year — a 57 per cent increase from the current fiscal year — as a reflection of the BNP government’s political commitment to tackling climate change.
However, he believes the allocation remains insufficient compared with the scale of the country’s needs.
He made the remarks in an immediate reaction to TIMES of Bangladesh after Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented the FY2026-27 budget on Thursday.
Sharif Jamil, coordinator for the Asia region of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and the Waterkeeper Alliance, said, “At first glance, there appears to be a clear indication that the government is prioritising renewable energy. At the same time, it reflects the government’s political goodwill in addressing climate change.”
However, he cautioned against viewing the announcement alone as a positive development. He questioned whether the financial resources and policy incentives would actually reach climate-vulnerable communities or primarily benefit business groups.
According to the Ministry of Finance report, Climate Financing for Sustainable Development: Budget Report 2026-27, around 75 per cent of the total climate budget, or Tk38,906 crore, has been allocated to adaptation measures. Food security, social protection and healthcare received the largest shares of the allocation.
Sharif Jamil said that while the allocation is substantial, it remains inadequate in relation to Bangladesh’s climate realities.
“The amount may appear large, but compared with the resources required for coastal polder rehabilitation, river erosion prevention and climate adaptation infrastructure, an allocation of nearly Tk55,000 crore could be exhausted very quickly,” he said.
He also pointed out that the damage caused by climate-related disasters continues to increase every year.
Government data showed that the average implementation rate of climate development projects stood at 84 per cent between FY2020-21 and FY2024-25.
“Allocating money alone does not solve the problem,” Sharif Jamil said. “Institutional capacity is essential to ensure that the funds are used effectively. If implementing agencies remain weak, even allocated resources will fail to produce the desired outcomes.”
In his view, larger budgets will not bring meaningful change unless the capacity of institutions, including the Department of Environment and other relevant agencies, is strengthened.
Concerns have also been raised that the rehabilitation of people displaced or affected by climate change is not clearly reflected in the budget. Problems such as salinity intrusion, shortages of safe drinking water, health risks and loss of livelihoods are continuing to intensify, particularly in coastal regions.
“Rehabilitation should not be viewed as a standalone programme,” he said. “It requires an integrated, multi-sectoral approach. Environmental protection, pollution control and public health must be considered together.”
According to him, if the government genuinely pursues a green transformation agenda, healthcare costs could decline in the long term.
However, he identified the low allocation for research and knowledge management as the most concerning aspect of the climate budget. The new budget allocates only 2.65 per cent to research and knowledge management.
“It is nowhere near sufficient,” Sharif Jamil said. “For a complex challenge such as climate change, research, evidence-based planning and knowledge management are the most fundamental foundations.”
He argued that strong research and reliable data are essential for Bangladesh to establish its legitimate claims to international climate compensation and adaptation funds.
“If we do not have adequate data and research, we will fall behind in securing our fair share of global climate financing,” he said.
Although the FY2026-27 climate budget includes record allocations for adaptation and mitigation, there is still no visible financial or implementation framework for programmes announced in the government’s election manifesto, including the planting of 250 million trees, the creation of 3,50,000 green jobs, a carbon trading market, an environmental start-up fund and a Climate Youth Fellowship.
Sharif Jamil said the climate budget could be regarded as a positive beginning, but its success would ultimately depend on implementation capacity, research-based planning and its real impact on the lives of climate-vulnerable people.
“The true measure of success will not be the size of the budget,” he said. “Rather, it will be its scientific foundation, implementation capacity, investment in research and whether it delivers tangible benefits to people affected by climate change.”
