THIS is a bitter irony for Bangladesh, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, that more than 54 per cent of the funds meant to protect people from climate disasters were either misused or lost to corruption between 2010 and 2024 during the fallen Awami League regime. A Transparency International Bangladesh report, released on November 4, exposed staggering irregularities in Bangladesh Climate Change Trust projects during the Awami League period. As the report says, Tk 2,111 crore from a few hundred projects involving Tk 3,895.87 crore in total was lost to corruption, mismanagement and theft. Of the losses, Tk 1,281.3 crore was embezzled during project implementation, Tk 599.9 crore vanished through collusion in tendering and contractor selection while Tk 175 crore and Tk 54.4 crore were drained away in bribery during project approval and monitoring. Such figures suggest systemic and institutionalised corruption, not a handful of isolated incidents. They also reveal how political influence, administrative negligence and greed undermined the integrity of climate governance. The amounts lost to corruption also represent the agony of people left defenceless against rising seas, families displaced by river erosion and flood and communities robbed of resilience and growth.
The report says that most projects were approved on political considerations rather than environmental urgency, with collusion involving the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust board and technical committee members. In some cases, projects were sanctioned for non-existent polders and embankments, a shocking neglect of duty in a country losing land every year to erosion and flooding. The report also mentions that many projects were of little value in terms of climate benefits and were undertaken primarily to channel funds into private pockets. A majority of projects between 2019 and 2023 centred on installing solar street lights 鈥� 216 out of 373 projects, or 58 per cent 鈥� with a massive overestimation of cost and the use of substandard materials. Instead of high-quality German-made equipment, as mentioned in project proposals, many installations used cheap imports from China and failed within a year. Climate funds were also diverted to unrelated ventures such as safari parks and eco-parks, diluting the very purpose of the Climate Change Trust. A significant amount of Bangladesh Climate Change Trust deposits has also remained stuck at the scam-hit Farmers Bank, now Padma Bank, since 2016. Such corruption and misuse have deprived climate victims of their due compensation and other support.
The loss of climate funds to corruption is a deplorable betrayal that the country must not let happen again. The government must, therefore, initiate independent investigation, recover misappropriated funds and overhaul the trust鈥檚 governance structure to ensure transparency, community participation and professional oversight. As climate threats intensify, the authorities must reclaim, restructure and redirect climate funds to where they belong 鈥� the climate victims.