From Climate Finance to Humanitarian Reality: Assessing Loss and Damage in Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate change has increasingly intensified humanitarian vulnerabilities in climate-prone countries such as Bangladesh. Coastal communities regularly experience cyclones, flooding, salinity intrusion, and river erosion, resulting in displacement, food insecurity, livelihood loss, and growing human insecurity. Against this backdrop, Loss and Damage has emerged as a significant issue within global climate governance, particularly following the establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism and the COP27 Loss and Damage Fund. This study examines how effectively Loss and Damage finance addresses humanitarian vulnerabilities in climate-affected communities in Bangladesh. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research analyzes secondary data collected from UNFCCC documents, IPCC reports, humanitarian assessments, government policies, NGO reports, and peer-reviewed literature. The findings indicate that although global recognition of Loss and Damage has increased, existing financing mechanisms remain insufficient, centralized, and constrained by bureaucratic and political barriers. The study also finds that donor dominance, institutional fragmentation, and limited localization weaken humanitarian effectiveness at the community level. While Bangladesh has strengthened disaster preparedness and adaptation governance, vulnerable communities continue to face unequal access to climate finance and limited participation in decision-making processes. The study argues for a more localized, justice-centered, and humanitarian-oriented climate finance system to address the growing realities of climate-induced loss and damage in the Global South.