The measures recommended by the IMF under the RSF are designed to support economies facing the challenges of climate change. The RSF program can be adjusted to include policy measures that advocate for reduced air and plastic pollution in urban areas of Bangladesh.
To address the first priority area identified by Bangladesh, making infrastructure investments green and resilient, the CPD seeks to consider sources of air pollution in the analysis of costs and benefits for public infrastructure projects and to include them in the Green Book. Recommends inclusion. Green Book essentially refers to the standards or protocols required for ratification and amendment of public sector development projects. Additionally, appraisals of major infrastructure projects should include an analysis of the costs of air and plastic pollution before investing in green and resilient infrastructure.
In addition, the government should revise the public-private partnership policy framework to include guidelines requiring the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials during project implementation, wherever possible, in lieu of single-use plastic products Needed The policy framework should also include provisions for Extended Producer Responsibility, which is an environmental policy tool that ensures recycling of products on behalf of producers. It should also require the inclusion of plastic recycling plants and proper channels for waste segregation associated with plastic waste management and effective collection of all plastic waste generated during a project to increase the pace of recycling. As noted in the IMF’s reform measures, it can act as a criterion for project selection for climate resilience policy programs initiated by the government. Additionally, the new module used to register public properties should be easily available to all and should be updated regularly.
As a second priority stated by the government, it is necessary to strengthen climate fiscal management to meet social and development objectives. It involves the management of public finances, investments and debt to achieve expenditure efficiency, good governance and transparency. Reform measures recommended by the IMF in line with this priority area include the adoption of a public procurement policy paper, which the CPD suggests includes issues related to air and plastic pollution. In the policy paper, the CPD recommended that Bangladesh should update fossil fuel prices monthly in line with international prices and to address the IMF’s recommendation on developing a periodic formula-based price adjustment mechanism for petroleum products. Subsidies on fossil fuels should be phased out. Additionally, the government should maintain an emissions database for air pollutants and include this in medium-term macroeconomic policy statements.