Bangladesh has been selected by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to develop an investment plan for up to US$30 million in climate resilience funding, in an announcement made on Thursday, November 12, on the sidelines of the COP31 United Nations climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.

Source: The Daily Evening News (CIF announcement)

Yaani, the plan Bangladesh can prepare is worth up to 3 crore US dollars. A regional project selected alongside the countries can seek up to US$40 million, yaani 4 crore US dollars.

Bangladesh is one of five countries chosen for the first phase of CIF's new climate resilience programme, Accelerating Resilience Investments and Innovations for Sustainable Economies, known as ARISE. The other selected countries are the Kyrgyz Republic, Haiti, Morocco and Sierra Leone, and a regional initiative covering Malawi and Mozambique was also selected.

Source: The Business Standard via Times Squire

US$30 millionMaximum plan each selected country can prepare under ARISE
5 countries + 1 regional projectFirst-phase ARISE selections
25Expressions of interest assessed, representing over US$700 million in potential investment

The selection followed an assessment of 25 expressions of interest representing more than US$700 million — yaani 70 crore US dollars — in potential investment opportunities across several sectors, according to the CIF press release reported by The Business Standard.

Source: The Business Standard via Times Squire

The proposed investment for Bangladesh will focus on reinforcing coastal protection systems, restoring mangrove forests and improving the adaptive capacity of communities most vulnerable to climate-related disasters, according to the CIF announcement. Bangladesh's low-lying delta coast faces flooding, cyclones and rising seas, which is why coastal protection and mangroves are central to its resilience planning.

Source: NationWire (CIF, COP31)

Speaking at an event during the climate conference on Thursday, Bangladesh's State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sheikh Faridul Islam, welcomed the country's selection as one of the first-phase partner countries under the ARISE programme.

Source: The Daily Evening News (CIF announcement)

What is ARISE?

ARISE — Accelerating Resilience Investments and Innovations for Sustainable Economies — is a CIF climate resilience programme launched at COP30 last year. It initially received more than US$100 million, yaani 10 crore US dollars, in funding commitments from Germany, Spain and Ireland.

Selection is not the same as money already spent: each selected country will now develop an investment plan seeking up to US$30 million, working through the programme process before projects are financed. What happens next is that Bangladesh prepares that plan, and the projects it proposes — coastal defences, mangrove restoration and community adaptation among them — will be judged under the ARISE process.

The announcement was made under CIF Chief Executive Officer Tariye Gbadegesin, whose organisation runs climate funds in partnership with multilateral development banks. CIF said the ARISE programme was launched at COP30 last year to support a new generation of climate resilience investments.

Source: The Daily Evening News (CIF announcement)