PM Hasina's 4 suggestions to fight climate challenge
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the developed countries to formulate an “immediate and ambitious action plan” to cut their carbon emissions to safeguard the earth from the adverse impact of climate change as she located a four-point proposal at a high-level global climate summit.
While delivering her statement at the virtual “Leaders’ Summit on Climate”, convened by US President Joe Biden, the prime minister simultaneously needed “strong collective response” to address global crisis like the climate change and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The premier joined the summit at the invitation of the Joe Biden. John Kerry, the united states special presidential envoy for climate, paid an invitation letter to the Bangladesh premier in Dhaka on April 9 to participate in the summit.
As many as 39 heads of state and government from across the world and the European Council president are expected to wait and deliver speech at the two-day virtual summit.
Sheikh Hasina’s recommendations include announcing an instantaneous and ambitious action plan by developed countries to reduce their carbon emissions to keep carefully the global temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius with focus on mitigation measures; and ensuring the total annual target of 100 billion US dollars that ought to be balanced 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation with a special attention to the vulnerable countries while pursuing losses and damages.
The other two ideas are: Major economies, international financial institutions and private sectors should come forward with plans for concessional climate financing as well as innovation; and focusing on green economy and carbon neutral technologies with a provision of technology transfer among nations.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that any global crisis can only be addressed through a strong collective response,” she said.
Hasina thanked US President Biden for convening the Summit and inviting her to speak at this gathering saying that Bangladesh deeply appreciates the United States’ return to the Paris Climate Agreement and its own keen to engage with the international community.
“Despite being a climate vulnerable country with resource constraints, Bangladesh has emerged as a worldwide leader on adaptation and mitigation,” she said.
The Prime Minister mentioned that each year Bangladesh is spending on the average 5 billion dollars, about 2.5 percent of the GDP, on climate adaptation and resilience-building measures.
“The 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar whom we’ve sheltered worsened our vulnerabilities,” she added.
Hasina said Bangladesh is pursuing a low-carbon development path. To raise its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and adaptation ambition, it has included new sectors in addition to the existing energy, industry and transport sectors in the mitigation process. “We’re likely to submit a quantified ambitious NDC by June 2021.”
The Prime Minister said Bangladesh is observing ‘Mujib Year’, marking the birth centenary of Father of the country Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“We’re planting 30 million saplings nationwide and adopting the ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’ to attain low-carbon economical growth,” she said.
As the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and V20, she said, Bangladesh’s key focus is on upholding the interests of the climate vulnerable countries, she added.
Hasina said Bangladesh is hosting the South Asian regional office of the Global Centre on Adaptation which is promoting locally-led adaptation solutions.
US President Biden and Vice President Harris opened the inaugural session of the Summit. The opening session titled ‘Raising Our Climate Ambition’ underscored the urgent dependence on the world’s major economies to strengthen their climate ambition by enough time of COP 26 to keep the goal of limiting warming to 1 1.5 degrees Celsius at your fingertips.
US Secretary-General António Guterres, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, among other world leaders, spoke at the virtual summit.
The Leaders’ Summit on Climate will be a key milestone on the road to the US Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow.
President Biden took action on his first day in office to return the united states to the Paris Agreement as days later, on January 27, he announced that he'd soon convene a leaders’ summit to galvanise efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis.
