Helping Bangladesh link social protection and climate resilience

Study to Combine Social Protection and Climate Action in Bangladesh

Bangladesh experiences some of the world’s most intense climate risks, from cyclones and floods to slow-onset disasters that push vulnerable households deeper into poverty. Stronger synergies between climate policies and programs and the Bangladeshi social protection system are needed to reduce risks for communities living in high climate exposure areas.

The European Union selected us to run a study on how to better connect climate policies and programs with the national social protection system. We drew on our combined expertise in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, social protection, sustainable finance and gender and social inclusion to carry out the study.

We performed structured data collection that included interviews, consultations with interested parties in Dhaka, and field visits to climate-vulnerable communities across northwestern and southwestern Bangladesh. Next, we assessed how climate risks, social programs, disaster risk management, adaptation action, and green transition policies interact in the country. Our goal was to find ways to mobilize climate-related investment under the EU’s Global Gateway alongside support for climate-sensitive and shock-responsive social protection to reduce vulnerability to climate change.

Ultimately, Bangladesh will be able to use the results of this study to better protect people from climate-induced shocks today and support more inclusive, greener development pathways in the years ahead.