Dhaka, 15 September 2025: The Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank, in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), hosted the national inception workshop of the Inclusive Climate Finance for Vulnerable Communities in Asia-Pacific (ICCAP) project today at the Planning Commission, NEC-2, Dhaka.

The workshop formally launched the five-year ICCAP project in Bangladesh, which is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany and jointly implemented by APRACA, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA). The project aims to enhance inclusive access to public and private climate adaptation finance for Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable populations, including smallholder farmers, women, and marginalised communities.

Bangladesh faces some of the highest climate risks globally, with increasing cyclones, flooding, salinity intrusion, and extreme weather events threatening lives and livelihoods. In alignment with Bangladesh’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP), ICCAP seeks to address systemic barriers and create an enabling environment for climate finance to flow effectively to the grassroots level.

The workshop brought together high-level representatives, including the Hon’ble Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, the Secretary and Additional Secretary of ERD under the Ministry of Finance, the Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank, senior officials from ministries, financial service providers, development partners, and civil society organizations.

Key sessions covered an overview of ICCAP’s Work Package 1 (Policy Analysis, Cooperation, and Engagement) led by APRACA, which focuses on strengthening policies and regulatory frameworks to enhance climate finance. Presentations also highlighted Work Package 2’s efforts on product development with Financial Service Providers, SEI’s work on policy analysis and green taxonomies, the Ministry of Finance on climate finance policies and strategies, and Bangladesh Bank’s strategies to green the financial sector.

Participants engaged in a lively discussion on policy gaps, barriers, and opportunities in climate finance, identifying priority actions to support Bangladesh’s climate resilience agenda.

The Secretary General of APRACA emphasized: “Climate finance must not remain a distant promise. Together, we must ensure it reaches those most vulnerable to climate impacts and enables them to adapt with dignity and security.”

The event concluded with commitments from stakeholders to collaborate in advancing inclusive climate finance and aligning ICCAP’s roadmap with Bangladesh’s national climate strategies.