IWM

The Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) hosted a distinguished high-level delegation from the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI), under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of the Republic of Korea, along with senior representatives from the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, on 15 January 2026.

The delegation was warmly welcomed by Md. Amirul Islam, Executive Director of IWM. The ERD delegation was led by Mr. A. K. M. Sohel, Additional Secretary and Wing Chief (UN Affairs), accompanied by Ms. Shakera Ahmed, Deputy Secretary, UN-2 Section, and Mr. Md. Juel Mahmud, Green Climate Fund (GCF) Liaison Officer of Bangladesh. The Korean delegation consisted of Mr. Nam Jaehyun, Senior Research Specialist at KEITI; Dr. Bhon K. Koo, Chief Executive Officer of HydroCore; Mr. John Song, Director of HydroCore; and Mr. Rahul Teku Vaswani, Consultant on Climate Change and Sustainability.

The visit marked an important milestone in strengthening international collaboration on climate-resilient development. Discussions focused on Bangladesh’s strategic opportunities under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Programme and explored innovative, scalable solutions to address the country’s growing climate challenges. IWM showcased its pioneering work in carbon credit development and nature-based solutions, demonstrating how climate mitigation efforts can be effectively integrated with livelihood improvement and ecosystem restoration.

A delegation from the Republic of Korea, led by Dr. Kyung Taek Yum, Vice Chairman of Korea Engineering Consultants Corporation, paid a visit to the IWM on 17 December 2025 to discuss urban flood forecasting and flood risk reduction initiatives in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area, with particular emphasis on the Buriganga River corridor. The delegation was welcomed by Dr. Mollah Md. Awlad Hossain, Deputy Executive Director (Planning & Development) and Mr. Tarun Kanti Magumdar, Director, Flood and River Basin Management (FRM) Division, along with senior officials of IWM.

Dr. Spyros Maroulakis, Marine Geologist and Technical Director of Terra Marine from Greece, visited IWM on December 17, 2025. His visit focused on discussing the Multi-Beam Survey in Cox's Bazar and exploring opportunities for technical collaboration in marine and riverine projects.

A national validation workshop was successfully held on Thursday, 11 December 2025, at Pan Pacific Sonargaon, Dhaka, marking a significant milestone in Bangladesh’s engagement with the Global Shield against Climate Risks. The workshop focused on advancing Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) interventions to close critical financial protection gaps in the country.

The Global Shield initiative, launched by the G7 and V20 countries at COP27, aims to enhance financial protection for climate-vulnerable nations through pre-arranged, index-based CDRFI mechanisms. In Bangladesh, the initiative seeks to establish a robust national framework to ensure rapid financial response and recovery support following climate-induced disasters.

Since 5 October 2024, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance has been leading the in-country process, with the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) providing technical assistance and strategic guidance to the Global Shield Secretariat. As part of this process, the validation workshop titled “Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI): Interventions for Closing the Financial Protection Gaps in Bangladesh under the Global Shield Request for Support Framework” was organized. The workshop aimed to present and validate the findings of the national Stocktake and Gap Analysis on CDRFI, gather stakeholder feedback on priority interventions, and refine Bangladesh’s Request for Support (RFS) to the Global Shield. Participants included representatives from key government ministries and agencies, development partners, the private sector, civil society organizations, academia, and technical experts.

The event was graced by Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Special Assistant to the Hon’ble Chief Adviser, as the Chief Guest. The session was chaired by Mr. Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and Mr. Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Secretary, Economic Relations Division. From the IWM study team, Mr. M Samiun Nabi, Team Leader and Head of Strategic Planning and Business (SPB), presented the Key findings of the Stocktake and GAP analysis of CDRFI.

Being the 9^th most climate vulnerable country, Bangladesh is regularly facing the ruthless challenges of a rapidly changing climate. But, as a resilient nation, Bangladesh also has some remarkable success stories, which can become a torchbearer for the rest of the world. The garment industry is such a sector for Bangladesh, which generates around 80% exports of the country. Having the largest number of green factories in the world, the Bangladesh RMG sector can also attract carbon finance with such LEED-certified facilities.

Bangladesh currently has 268 LEED-certified garment factories— the highest number in the world. These facilities can generate carbon credits by proving measurable emission reductions through solar installations, energy-efficient systems, and water management. LEED-certified factories typically achieve 35-45% reductions in carbon emissions, 40% in energy savings, and 30% lower energy costs. Such gains can be translated directly into tradable carbon credits on international markets.

Currently, around 50% of the total export is going to the EU region from Bangladesh. But from January 2026, there will be a new scenario regarding the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM aims to ensure equal treatment of domestic and imported goods by applying a charge to carbon emitted during the production of imported goods. From January 1, 2026, importers will have to purchase and surrender CBAM certificates corresponding to the emissions embedded in their imports. Carbon price alignment ensures the carbon price paid for imported goods is equivalent to the price paid by EU producers under the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS). It is going to be introduced to encourage non-EU countries and producers to adopt stricter climate policies and reduce their own emissions and Bangladesh is already going towards that.

Secondly, importers can sign a supplier agreement, where the importer pays a defined “carbon price top-up” to factory owners for verified emissions data and verified reductions (or pays a green premium on the offtake). Investors can finance energy efficiency, fuel switching, rooftop solar, process improvements across LEED factories. Such projects can be registered in Bangladesh too and can be registered under conservative, market-trusted standards (e.g., Verra VCS or Gold Standard) to issue Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) or equivalent. The importer buys the credits (forward offtake) at a premium.

Mr. Nabi stated such optimistic policy intervention suggestions during the panel discussion titled "Mobilizing Climate Finance to Accelerate Sustainability Transition of the RMG Sector of Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges". The session was chaired by Mr. A K M Sohel, Additional Secretary of the Economic Relations Division, with a keynote message delivered by Ms. Vidiya Amrit Khan, Vice President of BGMEA, and the keynote presentation was made by Dr. Shah Abdul Saadi, Deputy Secretary, ERD. Other panelists included Mr. Joaquim Leite, Head of Climate Finance at NDC Partnership, and Ms. Sara Jane Ahmed, Managing Director of CVF-V20.

In his deliberation, Mr. Nabi shed some more light on the future carbon finance possibilities in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. He stated that the LEED certified factories can generate credits through a documented process: conducting carbon audits, implementing reduction measures, registering projects with standards like Verra's Verified Carbon Standard or Gold Standard, obtaining independent verification, and selling credits on exchanges such as Xpansiv CBL (New York) or AirCarbon Exchange (Singapore) for trading. "Considering the rapidly changing landscape of climate finance, we need to equip ourselves to access more private funds. It will help us a lot to sail through the challenges ahead," Nabi emphasized.

With Bangladesh committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) and BGMEA targeting a 30% reduction, the policy framework supports carbon market integration. The challenge now is execution—connecting green factories to international carbon finance and transforming environmental leadership into economic advantage. Bangladesh's position as the second-largest apparel exporter with world-leading green infrastructure places it uniquely to turn climate action into a profitable opportunity, panelists concluded.