Bangladesh, bordered by India and Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal in the south, consists mostly of low-lying and flat land with a network of more than 230 major rivers, as well as thousands of tributaries and canals. The country is extremely vulnerable to floods and riverbank erosions, earthquakes due to its location in a seismically active and high-risk region, seasonal droughts in the northwestern region that receives lower rainfall than the rest of the country, and devastating cyclones.
INVESTING IN BANGLADESH
CIF’s investments in Bangladesh are through its Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), Scaling up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) and Forest Investment Program (FIP). In line with the government's poverty reduction and sustainable development objectives, the CIF funds are focused on climate resilience planning and projects across critical sectors and the development of domestic renewable energy resources.
The country's $110-million PPCR investment plan aims to improve climate-resilient agriculture and food security; strengthen reliability of water supply and sanitation, and enhance the resilience of coastal communities and infrastructure.
Bangladesh's $68-million SREP plan is helping to kickstart investments in utility-scale renewable energy projects and expand off-grid solar markets. By targeting regulatory, financial, and technical barriers, SREP financing aims to attract early investors, keep the cost of energy affordable for customers, and demonstrate market potential to stimulate future investment.
Through the CIF-TAF, there has been over $ 350,000 programmed for technical assistance activities in 2020 and 2021. The efforts range across provision of climate finance for financial institutions, to supporting regional scale up of solar PV.
