Climate budget rises 26% – where will the money be spent?
Three-quarters of allocation earmarked for adaptation measures
The government has proposed a climate budget allocation of Tk51,746 crore for the fiscal 2026-27, up 25.57% from Tk41,208.97 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The allocation covers 25 ministries and divisions and accounts for 11.03% of their combined budget, as the country faces growing climate challenges, including floods, cyclones, salinity intrusion, riverbank erosion and sea-level rise.
Of the total allocation, Tk38,906 crore, or 75.2%, has been earmarked for adaptation measures, including flood control, embankment construction and rehabilitation, coastal protection, water resource management, climate-resilient agriculture, disaster risk reduction and social safety-net programmes.
Another Tk9,925 crore, or 19.2%, will go to mitigation activities, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, low-carbon transport and emission reduction. The remaining Tk2,915 crore has been allocated for cross-cutting activities such as research, knowledge management, capacity building and institutional strengthening.
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The report shows that the climate share of the development budget reached 15.86%, the highest in five years, reflecting a growing focus on long-term investments in climate resilience and sustainable infrastructure.
Food security, infrastructure get top focus
Among the six pillars of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, the largest share of spending, 42.26%, will go to food security, social protection and health. Infrastructure-related projects will receive 24.47%, while 19.18% will be directed towards mitigation and low-carbon development.
At the ministry level, the Local Government Division, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources together account for more than 53% of total climate-relevant expenditure, highlighting the government's emphasis on rural livelihoods, agricultural production and critical infrastructure.
The Annual Development Programme for FY27 includes 522 climate-related projects with a combined allocation of Tk37,132.43 crore. Of this, Tk27,608.44 crore has been allocated for adaptation projects and Tk9,523.99 crore for mitigation projects.
Allocation still falls short
Despite the increase, experts say the allocation remains insufficient compared to the scale of climate-related losses faced by the country.
Climate finance expert and Chief Executive of Change Initiative M Zakir Hossain Khan said although the climate allocation has increased by around 26%, the real increase is much smaller once inflation is taken into account.
"Bangladesh's annual climate-induced losses are estimated at 3% to 4% of GDP and can reach as high as 6% to 7% in some cases. Compared with the scale of these losses, the current allocation is far from adequate," he said.
Khan questioned whether climate spending is aligned with the National Adaptation Plan, Nationally Determined Contributions and the country's most urgent climate vulnerabilities.
He said weak coordination between domestic and international climate finance limits larger investments for adaptation and loss-and-damage responses.
Climate finance roadmap urged
Khan said Bangladesh needs a clear climate finance strategy and a roadmap for the next five to 10 years, identifying funding sources, spending areas and priority actions.
According to official estimates, Bangladesh will require around $230 billion by 2050 to implement adaptation measures under the National Adaptation Plan. The country's latest Nationally Determined Contribution estimates that $116.18 billion will be needed by 2035 to implement climate actions, of which $90.23 billion is expected from international support.
