TIB calls for ensuring transparency, accountability and integrity in Climate Finance

Ensure transparency, accountability and integrity in Climate Finance TIB calls upon the international meeting of  parliamentarians

Dhaka, March 14, 2012. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has called upon the distinguished participants in the International Meeting of Parliamentarians on Climate Change beingh held in Dhaka during 14‐16 March to give top priority to the issues of transparency, accountability and integrity in the use of funds for addressing the challenges of climate change.

Welcoming this first ever international initative bringing together the law‐makers of the countries that are most adversely affected by Global Climate Change, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of TIB said, “we expect this unique forum of public representatives of the affected countries to be as concerned about ensuring flow of funds for adaptation and mitigation as for their own role of oversight to ensure transparency, accountability in the use of Funds”.

“The conference should take into congizance the importance of ensuring participation of stakeholders, especially the affected communities in decision making, building effective safeguards against conflict of interest in policies and practices, and zero tolerance against

corruption and other forms of misuse of funds”, he said. “Just because countries like Bangladesh which are vulnerable to climate change are also affected by governance deficit and corruption cannot justify any hesitation to make money available. It must be made available to be spent transparently, accountably and with specific measures to ensure that it reaches the most affected people”, he said. The statement further said, “developed countries who have made commitments to compensate for climate change and make resources available for the benefit of the affected people must ensure that the funds are genuinely ‘new and additional’ and not diverted from any existing or potential development assistance programmes. Any scope of double‐counting of climate money must be eliminated. Climate finance must complement development efforts, and should never be at the expense of development assistance”.

Media contact:

Rezwan‐ul‐Alam

Director ‐ Outreach & Communication

Cell no: 01713‐065012

Email: rezwan@ti‐bangladesh.org