AMN/ WEB DESK
The Green Climate Fund has approved dollar 256 million for Bangladesh in grants and loans to meet its Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets under the Paris agreement. The financing is provided as an integrated package for textile and Ready Made Garments (RMG) sectors of Bangladesh are the largest industrial contributors in carbon emission.
The two sectors combined together contribute more than 27 percent of the industrial carbon emission as they are working with old and outdated machines with poor energy management. By 2030, Bangladesh is committed to reduce its GHG emission by 15 percent compared to business-as-usual scenario.
According to the GCF, the funding will facilitate capacity building, awareness raising, policy development and support in loan disbursal and evaluation of programme parameters to textile and RMG sectors in Bangladesh. It expects to reduce 14.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in emissions with the use of this funding.
The funding is part of the dollar 1 billion funding approved by GCF in its 27th board meeting on 14 November for financing low-emission, climate-resilient development in the developing countries. The funding will be spread over 16 projects in multiple countries including Bangladesh. In the current year, GCF has approved over dollar 2 billion in new climate finance, taking its total portfolio to over dollar 7 billion.
GCF was set up under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010 as the world’s largest dedicated fund to help developing countries reduce their carbon emissions.