Bangladesh Bank, BIBM hold adaptation finance masterclass
Under a joint initiative, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management, and the Global Centre on Adaptation recently organised a gender-responsive masterclass on adaptation finance at the BIBM campus in Dhaka.
The five-day programme brought together 30 participants from BIBM, commercial banks, and non-bank financial institutions, with the objective of strengthening institutional capacity to integrate climate adaptation considerations into financial decision-making. Training sessions were conducted by faculty members from Bangladesh Bank and BIBM, along with senior banking practitioners.
The masterclass builds on a training of trainers initiative held in November 2024, through which GCA, with support from knowledge partner Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, enhanced the capacity of national trainers to deliver adaptation finance curricula in a sustained and institutionalised manner.
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At the closing and certificate award ceremony, M Mosleh Uddin, Senior Programme Officer for Adaptation Finance at GCA, presented an overview of the training outcomes and key lessons, highlighting the need to embed climate risk and resilience considerations into core financial practices.
Delivering the keynote address, Nurun Nahar, Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, stressed the urgency of coordinated national efforts to improve access to climate finance. She said resilience-building requires well-designed and adequately financed adaptation strategies, supported by collaboration among policymakers, financial institutions, development partners, and communities.
A K M Sohel, Additional Secretary and Wing Chief at the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance, said adaptation has become a core banking concern, noting that financial institutions risk missing future investment opportunities without applying a climate lens.
From a regulatory perspective, Chowdhury Liakat Ali, Director of the Sustainable Finance Department of Bangladesh Bank, said climate change poses material financial risks by increasing credit risk, disrupting economic activity, and disproportionately affecting agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises, and vulnerable communities.
Adele Cadario, Global Lead for Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions at GCA, said adaptation finance should be viewed as an economic opportunity, adding that GCA works with financial institutions and the private sector to position adaptation as a driver of economic resilience rather than a charitable activity.
In her closing remarks, Rita Loahani, GCA Country Representative, reaffirmed GCA's commitment to supporting Bangladesh through practical and institutionalised capacity-building initiatives aligned with national priorities.
The event was chaired by Dr Md Ezazul Islam, Director General of BIBM, who said adaptation is an urgent development priority for Bangladesh and highlighted the financial sector's role in translating climate ambition into investment by embedding climate risk considerations into credit appraisal, investment decisions, and portfolio management.
Following the pilot programme, BIBM plans to institutionalise and regularly deliver the masterclass for financial institutions across the country, aiming to deepen understanding of physical climate risks, and support the development of bankable adaptation investments aligned with Bangladesh's national adaptation priorities.
